Streedhan: Understanding and protecting a woman's right over assets

The husband's family should also document all gifts to avoid false allegations

A husband has no control over his wife’s ‘streedhan’ (a woman’s  property), the Supreme Court reaffirmed in a recent judgement which emphatically recognised a woman’s absolute right over her property.

“This judgment reinforces women’s autonomy over their pre- and post-marital property, asserting that any contribution by a woman to her partner, even if in the form of a loan, must be returned,” says Ekta Rai, an advocate at the Delhi High Court.

Streedhan refers to gifts, money or property that a woman receives before her marriage, at the time of her marriage, during childbirth or widowhood, primarily from her parents,