What does the progress in relation to post-divorce maintenance for women in Indian law tell us about the relationship of law and society in South Asia?

On 16 December 2012, the events that unfolded on a bus changed the life of one woman dramatically. Four men raped the defenceless woman and beat her; she died two weeks later. On 13 September 2013 the four were found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment. Whilst it would be naïve to think such events are confined to India, the reaction by certain factions of the public, which blamed the victim, evidences an underlying element of discrimination that remains present in the minds of certain persons within the region (Burke and Major (2014)). This paper considers whether the Hindu Marriage Act 1955, which aimed to cater for gender neutrality, and its reception by the judiciary tasked with implementing it. It is concluded that whilst progress between the Act and the Uniform Code may have seemed alleviate all forms of discrimination, the substance paints a different picture where religion and societal differences remain at play and often override legislative aims. The legislatio