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GENDER BENDER
In Goa, a Hindu man can remarry if his previous wife does not give birth to
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1/19/2017 Indian women will never be equal as long as these 9 laws remain on the books Quartz
any male children till the age of 30. And this law is just the tip of the
sanctioned sexism across India.
A recent UN report lists all the ways laws of cially support men over women.
Quartz culled through and found the worst offenders:
Even if the deceased woman was ill treated in her marital home, her
husbands mother or father will get her property instead of her own mother
or father, says Kirti Singh, the family and property lawyer who authored the
UN report .
The married children, however, have the right to declare it void. A woman can
call off a marriage until she turns 20, whereas a man has till age 23.
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1/19/2017 Indian women will never be equal as long as these 9 laws remain on the books Quartz
Marriageable age: The minimum age for marriage for a boy is 21, but 18 for
a girl. This is a legal extension of the patriarchal mindset that believes that a
wife should always be younger than the man.
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Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act: Women are still not equal
guardians of their children. A father is considered the natural guardian of a
child, although the custody of offspring under the age of 5 will ordinarily be
awarded to the mother.
The new BJP government has promised a uniform civil law applicable to all
Indians, irrespective of religion. But it also holds up Goan Cvil Code as the
model to be enforced all over the country. This polygamy provision hardly
makes it upstanding.
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1/19/2017 Indian women will never be equal as long as these 9 laws remain on the books Quartz
There are occasional silver linings: Provisions in the Goa Civil Code allow
each spouse 50% share in their marital property after divorce.
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