Shimla, Apr 3: Tribal women in Himachal Pradesh do not come under inheritance law if there is a male member in the family, Revenue minister Kaul Singh said on Tuesday.
"Daughters, wives and mothers in the tribal district of Lahaul and Spiti have the right to own property and inherit ancestral property.
"But they can only inherit this when a male descendant is not in existence," Singh said in a written reply in the Vidhan Sabha.
Women's rights groups said the law bars even widows from inheriting their husband's property which is transferred to the sons.
This law is also applicable in adjoining tribal district of Kinnuar which allows only men to inherit ancestral property if it is not bequeathed.
"We are gong to knock at the doors of the High Court for justice," said 60-year-old social activist Rattan Manjari, chairperson of the Mahila Kalyan Parishad, a rights group based in Kinnaur district.
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