Aizawl, March 30, 2010 : While the Congress-led UPA government managed to pass a a landmark women’s quota bill, the same Congress government in Mizoram has failed to give basic rights to Mizo women- right to property.

The Mizo Divorce Ordinance which was notified in the official gazette on October 6, 2008, is no longer in force as the session of the Assembly held on December 16 did not adopt it, Law Minister Lalsawta said on March 29.

The Congress government felt that the ordinance did not include important provisions as it was issued in haste by the previous Mizo National Front (MNF) government, he said.

Meanwhile, the opposition MNF is understood to have taken the matter seriously. Highly placed sources in the party said: “The Congress government led by Hawla (Lal Thanhawla) is interested  only in undoing the previous government’s accouterments. We are not surprised.”

The matter has been referred to the state Law Commission for detailed study and to draft a more comprehensive bill, Lalsawta told the Assembly.

According to analysts, Mizo women will have to wait for at least “another 8-9 months to claim property rights” if the government is really serious about the  issue.