What is Married Women’s Protection (MWP) Act?

1. MWP was a welfare act enacted in 1874 to ensure the absolute ownership of wages, earnings, property, investments, and savings of a married woman.

2. The husband cannot acquire any interest in any such property of the wife after the marriage.

3. It was created to protect the properties owned by women from in-laws, relatives, and creditors.


4. Section 6 of the MWP Act lays down that when the husband purchases an insurance policy and makes his wife and children the beneficiaries, the death benefit or any other bonuses arising out of it are to be awarded solely to his wife and children.

5. Purchasing an insurance policy under the MWP Act protects the family from the burden of debts and family disputes.

(Content on this page is courtesy Centre for Investment Education and Learning (CIEL). Contributions by Girija Gadre, Arti Bhargava and Labdhi Mehta.)