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Women’s property rights tied to suicides -Hemali Chhapia
-The Times of India

MUMBAI: Has the amendment to the Hindu Succession Act conferring equal rights over property to daughters shattered the peace at home? A study put together by an American and a Canadian university not only arrives at this conclusion but goes one step further and draws a co-relation between the Act being changed in 2005 and a subsequent rise in suicides.

The paper, called 'Suicide and Property Rights in India', co-authored by Siwan Anderson and Garance Genicot from the University of British Columbia and Georgetown University, states that marital conflict has become a major concern and "greater female autonomy could lead to increased conflict within the household and, in extreme cases, to higher suicide rates among both men and women". It states unequivocally: "Improving female property rights have raised both female and male suicides, even more so among the latter."

The paper's bizarre conclusions have caused a stir in academic circles, with women's organizations particularly shocked at this narrow, even misogynist, view. "This kind of 'research' is damaging and patriarchal," says women's rights activist Farida Lambay. "India, the world must know, is moving towards becoming a more inclusive and equitable society." Advocate Flavia Agnes dismisses the study as "ridiculous". "In my 20 years of practice, I have come across brothers fighting with brothers over property but not with sisters," she says. "Such a study is not looking into the details of suicides. Data can be manipulated in any way."

The authors, on their part, are at pains to clarify that they are not suggesting that gender equality be reduced but that India should learn a thing or two from the accounts of industrialized countries. "The dire consequence of increased opportunities for women can be mitigated only when societal institutions adjust and there is a greater acceptance of the new gender roles," says the study.

The two researchers, who developed a statistical model by examining suicide data before and after the amendment to the Hindu Succession Act, conclude: "(Looking at) the fact that male and female suicides are caused by family problems, and (that) marital disharmony has increased with the amendment, we conjecture that increasing female property rights have increased conflict within households and that this increased conflict has resulted in more suicides among both men and women."

The paper further states, "It might be that conflict between brothers and sisters, not husbands and wives, increased as a result of the reforms. This would not change the way we think about this theoretically, as we can use the above framework to model bargaining between a sister and a brother over assets."

Since 1956, some states have amended the Hindu Succession Act so that both sons and daughters have a right to joint family property (Kerala in 1976; Andhra Pradesh in 1986; Tamil Nadu in 1989; Maharashtra and Karnataka in 1994). The researchers found that their statement held true and the suicide rate among men went up after the Act was amended. In India, average suicide rates are 11 and 7.3 (per 100,000) for men and women respectively.

TISS director S Parasuraman, who has studied the research paper, says that the study diverts attention from the real causes behind suicide. "This study is not an empirical one which studies the causes of suicide — it merely takes data from various sources, each variable pertaining to a different reference period. Such an analysis is mathematically problematic and the associations can often be spurious."