Uttarakhand's UCC weakens women's inheritance rights, activists warn

Uttarakhand's Uniform Civil Code, promoted as a step toward equality, has instead weakened women's inheritance protections, according to activists and legal experts. The law permits parents to will property away from daughters, creating new vulnerabilities for women under both Hindu and Muslim personal law provisions.

The UCC was framed as a unifying legal framework, but critics argue it has inadvertently reduced safeguards for female inheritance rights that existed under previous personal laws. Both Hindu and Muslim women now face heightened risk of disinheritance under the new provisions.