Despite the legal right to inherit both self-acquired and ancestral property, few women in India inherit property equal to that of their brothers. Given this, it becomes all the more important to examine communities that have followed matrilineal kinship and inheritance, as they offer a case in which women historically inherited property. The practice of matrilineal kinship in Kerala has undergone dramatic changes over the course of the twentieth century, propelled by social and economic transformations and reinforced by legal reforms. Drawing on fieldwork among a caste called the Thiyyas concentrated in North Kerala, I argue that, contrary to claims that matriliny has shifted to patriliny, women in these communities inherit property equal to their brothers or even more.

However, developments since the late 1990s have pointed to processes that increasingly threaten women’s ownership and control over property. While the factors that render women’s control over property tenuous are multiple, I am particularly interested in exploring the implications of the availability and nature of home loans, as well as the lure of home improvement given the vast array of products available in booming capitalist markets.

Organised by the Centre for Families and Relationships, supported by the Centre for South Asian Studies.

Speaker Bio

Janaki Abraham is Professor at the Department of Sociology, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi.

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