18 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
The Assembly re-assembled at Half Past Five of the Clock with Mr. Speaker (The Honourable Mr. G. V. Mavalankar) in the Chair.
Dr. B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya : Mr. Speaker, I was dealing with the question of a share for the daughter from the patrimony. I am in the habit of twitting my lady friends by asking them “Why do you want a share ? You are going to become the queens of another home. My wife has become the queen of my home and she is the unquestioned head of the family. She is getting the keys of her own safe and so will you get the keys of the safe of another home.” But that is not enough. It is not enough to be at the mercy of a husband, however dear that husband may be. A woman must have her own right and when she has her own right she is better respected by the husband and although the doctrine of self-effacement on the part of the woman has been carried on in our country and society for ages long, yet the fact remains that in the modern day the conception of self-respect has completely altered the position. One must be able to say that she has a little money to deal with in her own right.
Hitherto I have had a little doubt as to whether we are not depriving all the sons of the share to which they are legitimately entitled if the daughter also comes in for her share. Now the Bill before us gives a share in the stridhana to the sons to the same extent to which the daughter is given a share in the father’s property. That largely equalises things and warns all parents that they should have an equal number of sons and daughters. That is the only condition that is imposed upon us and that will be able to balance our economy. We must also balance our progeny.
But there is another difficulty. After all as things stand, it looks as though we cannot say hereafter in marriage invitations that my daughter is being given in marriage to so and so, there will be a new language adopted. My daughter and so and so will marry each other. That is the new language adopted. Still the fact remains that except in Malabar, where the husbands go to their wives’ houses, here our daughters generally go to their husbands’ houses. Of course the position in Malabar is entirely the reverse of our conditions and it will take hours to deal with the question. I am not going to stray into that very interesting topic. Yet the fact remains when the daughter goes away from her father’s home, the wonder is whether she is able to enjoy the property that is given to her by her parents. I have asked my Muslim sisters and brothers as to whether the age-long custom