It was gender the decided property rights. Evidence for this is available from a sub-story in the Mahabharata. There was constant rivalry between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. With the intention of cheating the Pandavas, Duryodhana invited Yudhishtira for a game of dice.
In the game, Dharmaputra mortgaged gold, elephants, chariots, slaves, army, treasury, country, the wealth of the subjects, brothers arid even himself. He lost all these. Finally, he even pledged his wife Panchali to continue with the game. This part of the story makes the importance of gender in matters of property.
