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Property Rights for Women
 

The Mann Deshi Bank won a victory in 2004 when it convinced the Revenue Department of Maharashtra to include women’s names on stamp papers.  Stamp papers are duties levied on transfers of immovable property.  By including the names of women, the papers recognize a woman’s right to household property.  This means their husbands can neither sell the property without her consent nor claim the entire property as his own in case of divorce. To date, nearly six hundred thousand women have been affected by this policy change and 5000 have been able to get the share in the household property.

The Bank has also found more innovative ways of getting women to own property.  In 2003, the Mann Deshi Bank helped one village to win a state government-sponsored “Cleanest Village” competition by convincing all the men in the village to share the legal title to their property with their wives - some even volunteered to transfer all of the property to their wives.  The men agreed to the transfer because they wanted the financial reward as well as the coveted distinction that their actions brought to the village.  The women, in turn, took extra care to keep their newly acquired properties sparkling clean.  In the end, the village won the cash prize.

In addition, the Bank encourages home ownership among our clients.  Mann Deshi has created an incentive for women to become homeowners by giving them a 1% rebate on interest paid on loans.