Marriage Without Rights

Mehar is a legal right, not a gesture. But in Kashmir, women are battling families and officials to claim it.

- Mohammad Amin Mir

Across towns and villages in Kashmir, Muslim women are routinely denied the land promised to them at marriage.

Haq Mehar, guaranteed under Islamic law and upheld by Indian courts, is treated as symbolic, not legal.

The woman may have the Nikanama. She may have a sworn affidavit from her husband. She may even live on the land. Still, when the husband dies, she is asked to prove ownership all over again.

Revenue officers hesitate. Without a gift deed, mutation is stalled. The heirs object. The woman is asked to get a relinquishment from her own children or go to court.

In most cases, she gives up. The land remains in the husband's name. The promise dissolves.

Mehar is a debt, and it is not optional. The Supreme Court has said so. High Courts have said so.

In Amina Bi v. Revenue Authorities, the Karnataka High Court held that land mentioned as Mehar in a Nikanama, backed by possession, must be mutated.