In a historic judgment, Bangladesh High Court has ruled in the favour of all Hindu widows by entitling them to the shares in all properties including agricultural and non-agricultural lands of their late husbands.
Previous to this landmark judgment, the widows of the country are only entitled to get the homesteads of their late husbands and not other assets like agricultural land.
The court ruled that no separation has been made between the agricultural and non-agricultural lands. Therefore, Hindu widows have the right to get share in the lands of their husbands.
“Hindu widows will have the rights to both agricultural and non-agricultural lands that belonged to their husbands. They will also get the right to sell the lands for legal necessities during their lifetime,” the court order said.
The ruling came after a civilian Jyotindranath Mondal from Khulna district filed a revision petition challenging a lower court order.
Khulna’s joint district judge on March 7, 2004, had delivered judgment in a plea filed by Jyotindranath Mondal, stating that Gouri Dasi, widow of Jyotindranath”s elder brother Avimannu Monda, will get share in the agricultural land of her deceased husband.
After the death of Gouri’s husband, the land was recorded on her name in 1996. Jyotidranath then, filed a case with an assistant judge in Khulna challenging this record of the land.
Advocate and activist, Dipty Sikder stated, ” This verdict is of course one step forward in the fight for the establishment of equality between men and women. But there’s still a long way to go to achieve the goal for equal rights of Hindu women.”
