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Kathmandu Wednesday July 18, 2001 Shrawan 01, 2058.
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Women to get parental property even
after marriage
By Binaj Gurubacharya
KATHMANDU, July 17 - Today marks a victory for the champions of women’s
equal rights to parental property.
The parliamentary Law and Justice Committee today approved the most
controversial clause in the Bill proposing 11th amendment to the Muluki
Ain or civil code, that would now allow women to retain parental
property even after marriage.
"The committee today discussed and approved the clause where daughters
would have equal rights to parental property as the sons and they would
not have to return it after marriage," said the committee following
today’s meeting.
This settles the lengthy debate between women rights activists and the
lawmakers that has delayed endorsement of this Bill since it was first
tabled in Parliament four years ago.
"Now women will not have to return back the property after they marry
which ends the biggest controversy and debate in this Bill," said member
of the committee Prem Bahadur Singh.
This clause initially said that though women would have equal rights to
parental property they would have to return it after they are married
off which has been severely criticized by women rights activists as a
lame loophole in the proposed Bill.
The proposed Bill recognizes daughters as equal heirs of the parental
property, share in the husband’s property even before a divorce and
remove age restriction for widows to claim property from her in-laws.
This controversial Bill better known as Property Rights Bill since it
grants daughter rights to parental property had been passed on to this
Committee since it was sent there by the House of Representatives just a
few days before it prorogued last summer.
Since then it has been idle there until the members of this committee
decided to aggressively venture into an ambitious project soliciting
suggestions all over the nation.
Earlier this year, members of this committee spent days travelling to
all 14 zones in the country discussing the controversial Bill.
This was the first time in the decade-long history of the present system
that a parliamentary committee has taken up such an ambitious project
prior to adopting a Bill.
Under normal circumstances, Bills are usually discussed among the two
dozen members of the committees, necessary amendments made and then
passed on back to the House of Representatives and the National Assembly
for endorsements.
They had prepared a questionnaire with 20 questions asking if the people
supported the idea of equal property rights and if they did what should
be the mode of distribution. Should the property be equally divided
among the sons and daughters or first let the parents keep a part of it
and then distribute it among the children.
Other options were, should the "will" system be introduced and if so
should the parent be free to give the property to the children of their
choice or let the state decide after the death of the parents.
The Property Rights Bill has been one of the most controversial in
Nepal’s history. Since the idea of property rights first popped up few
years ago, the issue has sparked more debates than most laws proposed,
and has gathered more suggestions than any other Bills presented for
debate in the past few years.
The existing laws do not give rights to women to stake their claim on
parental property unless they are over 35 years of age and unmarried
till then.
The proposed Bill recognizes daughters as equal heirs of the parental
property, share in the husband’s property even before a divorce and
remove age restriction for widows to claim property from her in-laws.
A study done by the Center for Women, Law and Development revealed that
though the constitution of Nepal bars any and all forms of
discrimination on the basis of sex, there are at least 118 laws that
discriminate against women.
Now the committee will be discussing other parts of the Bill, which is
not expected to take too much time. And then it will send to the House
for voting.
"We have passed the biggest hurdle in getting the Bill through now and
we are certain the Bill would be sent to the House for endorsement right
this parliamentary session," Member of Parliament Singh said.
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