Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Legal recognition of women’s inheritance rights has had a profound effect on female empowerment in India, according to a new study from the Indian Institute of Management Indore.
Conducted by Prof Ajay Sharma and doctoral researcher Minali Grover, the research provides rare empirical evidence that reforms to the Hindu Succession Act (HSA) have strengthened women’s agency within households and reshaped gender dynamics.
Published in the journal Empirical Economics, the paper titled Women’s Inheritance Rights Reforms and Impact on Women’s Empowerment: Evidence from India examines how the landmark 2005 amendment to the HSA, which granted unmarried daughters equal rights to ancestral property, has influenced women’s decision-making power and social standing.
The researchers employed a quasi-natural experiment design, leveraging the staggered implementation of inheritance reforms across five Indian states between 1976 and 1994, prior to the nationwide amendment in 2005. Using data from the India Human Development Survey (2004–2015) and a difference-in-differences approach, they compared outcomes for women exposed to the reforms with those who were not.
Their findings are striking: women with inheritance rights were significantly more likely to participate in household decisions related to healthcare, major expenditures and mobility — key indicators of empowerment in development economics.
The effects were most visible among younger women, particularly those unmarried at the time the reforms took effect, underscoring how the timing of legal interventions shapes long-term impact.
Interestingly, the study found no immediate uptick in women’s labour force participation, suggesting that empowerment through property rights may first translate into bargaining power and gradual cultural change before manifesting in economic activity.
‘Legal clarity and equal rights are critical in laying the foundation for gender equity,’ Sharma said. ‘Our study shows that reforms on paper are not symbolic; they can, in fact, reshape household power structures and women’s lived realities,’ he added.
The study also stresses the importance of sustained efforts beyond legislation. Awareness campaigns, cultural shifts and mechanisms to ensure accessibility of rights remain essential for translating laws into lived empowerment for women across socio-economic strata.
By quantifying the real-world effects of inheritance reforms, the IIM Indore study contributes valuable insights to policymakers, activists, and scholars working on gender justice. It strengthens the case for using legal reform as a tool to correct entrenched inequalities in property rights — a cornerstone of economic and social empowerment.
