In Nepali society, women's rights over property were historically limited by patriarchal traditions and social norms that gave priority to men. According to traditional Hindu law and practice, property rights were inherited and transferred only through the male line.

This action made men the main guardians and owners of all other assets including land, while women, especially daughters and wives, were left with no rights in the family and society and kept as second class citizens. Although much progress has been made through legal reform and international commitment to gender equality, the practical implementation of women's property rights in Nepal still remains complex disparities between legal norms, customs and socio-economic conditions.

In Nepal's traditional socio-legal structure, daughters were not considered heirs to family property. Women's role in the family was considered temporary. It was seen as a social norm that a woman should marry and live in her husband's house. Such thinking made the daughter financially dependent on the family home, where it was believed that her future husband, not her parents, would be responsible for her financial security. Even unmarried or divorced or widowed daughters who returned or stayed, had to bear rejection and neglect in the family when they claimed the right to the ancestral property. In a patriarchal society there were great limits in society on property ownership and inheritance even in the case of wives.

Although the husband's property was exempted after marriage, the legal ownership was usually in the husband's name. After the death of the husband, the widow had to face legal and social difficulties to claim her right to the property. In such a situation, when the relatives or in-laws challenged her rights, the property was taken away or usurped, making the woman powerless. In such a situation, widowed women used to suffer economic insecurity and social ostracism. Exclusion of women from property rights was not only a legal limitation but deeply rooted in religious, cultural norms and family structures. 

In some cases, although the law gave women the right to inherit, in practice, traditional practice stifled that right. This type of institutional exclusion affected not only the economic status but also women's self-reliance, social power and participation in public life. National and international policy structure, global recognition and in the last few decades, Nepal has modified its national policy for the protection of women's property rights by promoting gender equality to match international human rights standards. After the United Nations declared 1975 as the International Women's Year, the Civil Code of Nepal was legally amended to give rights to property to unmarried women who reached the age of 35 for the first time.

Along with global recognition, even in Nepal, after the restoration of democracy in 1990, legal reform has progressed rapidly. The Constitution of the then Dominion of Nepal 2047 succeeded in laying the foundations of an inclusive legal structure by prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender. By ratifying the Treaty on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1979, Nepal has accepted its international obligations to ensure equality in property rights, marriage and family relations.

The Constitution of Nepal (2072) was a historic achievement for achieving gender equality. Article 18 of the Constitution expressly prohibits gender discrimination, ensuring equal legal protection to all citizens. Clause 5 of Article 25 of the Constitution ensures equal rights for men and women in inheritance. Article 38 ensures freedom of women in marriage, divorce and property ownership.

Along with the constitution, Nepal has strengthened women's property rights through some important legal reforms and judicial decisions. Articles 205 and 206 of the Civil Code issued by the Government of Nepal have given daughters the same rights as sons, regardless of whether they are married or unmarried. In Article 208 of this code, children are given the right to inherit property even from the mother's side, which is an important progress towards the formal recognition of women's independent property rights. 

On December 19, 2019, the Supreme Court established the principle of gender equality by making a clear decision that a married daughter is entitled to the property of her mother. In addition, Nepal has also committed to the Beijing Action Plan adopted in 1995, which has contributed to eliminating gender inequality in property ownership.

The government of Nepal has built a multi-level institutional structure in Nepal to implement legal reforms effectively. The National Commission for Women has been functioning as an independent constitutional body, which deals with complaints, monitoring and recommendations related to women. But its effectiveness has not been fully implemented due to lack of revisions, manpower and political will. Likewise, the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens and the National Commission for Women are working as the main mechanisms in the center for women's rights. 

At the provincial level, there is a judicial committee led by the Ministry of Social Development, the Women's Development Branch at the local level, the deputy head in the city and the vice president in the municipality. The local level judicial committee is a competent body created to immediately solve the problems of domestic violence, property disputes and gender discrimination faced by women at the local level. Since it will be under the leadership of Jan Pratidhi, problem solving will be done quickly and the cost and time of going to the higher authorities will be saved. Lack of literacy and lack of women-friendly environment at the local level in some remote areas seems to be hindering the implementation. In addition to this, women's police service centers have also created important mechanisms to help ensure women's access to justice.