The Struggle for Women’s Inheritance Rights in Pakistan
The ongoing challenges and efforts in women’s inheritance rights in Pakistan, exploring legal, cultural, initiatives
Pakistan is a prominently Muslim society governed by a constitution in which Islamic Shariah is the main source of legislation. Agriculture plays a significant role in Pakistan's economy, employing 42% of the full-time workforce and contributing 23% to the GDP. 97 percent of women did not inherit land or housing, according to Pakistan's 2017-2018 Demographic and Health Survey.
The inheritance rights of women in Pakistan remain a complex and contentious issue, blending legal provisions with deeply ingrained cultural practices. Despite legal protections and recent legislative efforts to uphold these rights, many women continue to face obstacles in claiming their rightful inheritance.
Pakistan's legal framework provides a basis for women's inheritance rights. Article 23 of the Constitution guarantees the right to own property, irrespective of gender. Additionally, various laws and ordinances, such as the Married Women’s Property Act of 1874, the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act of 1939, and the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance of 1961, reinforce women's entitlement to inherit property.
The Prevention of Anti-Women Practices (Criminal Law Amendment) Act, 2011, is a significant legal milestone aimed at criminalizing practices that deprive women of their inheritance rights. Offenders can face imprisonment and fines for violating these rights.
Furthermore, the Enforcement of Women’s Property Rights Act, 2020, seeks to protect women's ownership and possession of properties, providing mechanisms for easier resolution of property disputes.
Challenges and Cultural Realities
Despite these legal protections, the ground reality presents a starkly different picture. Deeply ingrained cultural practices and patriarchal norms often override legal provisions, leading to the denial of women's inheritance rights.
Legal protections, although theoretically in place, often fail to translate into practical realities due to deeply ingrained cultural practices. Patriarchal norms frequently override legal provisions, leading to the denial of women's inheritance rights.
Emotional coercion, blackmail and even physical violence from male relatives are common tactics used to pressure women into relinquishing their inheritance. These disturbing realities highlight the pervasive societal pressures that thwart women's claims of their rightful assets.
A critical aspect of this issue lies in the unequal distribution of inheritance, particularly prevalent in rural areas where traditional customs heavily favor male heirs.
Sons are often deemed as the natural inheritors, relegating daughters to secondary roles or coercing them into signing away their rights. Such practices not only deprive women of their rightful assets but also perpetuate a cycle of gender inequality deeply ingrained in societal expectations.
Discriminatory practices like 'haq bakhshwana' further exacerbate the situation, where women are effectively excluded from marriage or married off to religious texts to retain property within the family.
Cousin marriages and 'watta satta' arrangements similarly serve to maintain property unity at the cost of women's autonomy and inheritance rights. These practices, though ostensibly about property preservation, reinforce gender disparities and hinder progress toward equitable inheritance laws.
Perceived incompetence, fueled by patriarchal beliefs, adds another layer of complexity. Women are often viewed as unskilled in land management despite evidence to the contrary, leading to further challenges in asserting their inheritance rights.
Additionally, lower levels of literacy and education among women create additional barriers to navigating the legal complexities of inheritance claims effectively.
Seclusion practices like purdah further compound these challenges, limiting women's interactions and autonomy in managing landholdings.
Such restrictions not only curtail economic opportunities but also perpetuate a cycle of dependence that undermines women's agency in property matters.
Marriage practices intersect with inheritance rights, presenting yet another dimension of complexity. Dowry practices, often used to justify withholding inherited land from women post-marriage, underscore how societal norms can subvert legal entitlements.
Polygamy dilutes women's share of inherited property, while divorce can strip them of any claim to marital assets, highlighting the vulnerability of women's inheritance rights within marital contexts.
Legal pluralism, marked by contradictory interpretations of inheritance laws influenced by formal and personal law systems, presents additional hurdles. These divergent interpretations often favor male-centric patterns of property ownership, perpetuating systemic biases and inhibiting progress toward gender-equitable inheritance laws.
The Initiatives
Civil society organizations, women's rights groups, and grassroots movements have been pivotal in advocating for legal reforms and challenging discriminatory practices. Their efforts include lobbying for legislative changes, raising public awareness, and providing support to women facing inheritance disputes.
The government plays a crucial role in addressing the challenges faced by women in claiming their inheritance rights. Policy reforms, such as the Enforcement of Women’s Property Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2021, demonstrate a commitment to strengthening legal protections for women.
This bill aims to prevent fraud and coercion in property transactions, ensuring that women's rights are upheld without manipulation or deceitful practices.
They also enforced specialized mechanisms, such as ombudsperson offices or dedicated family courts, that could expedite the resolution of inheritance disputes. These institutions provide accessible avenues for women to seek redressal and enforce their legal entitlements without prolonged legal battles.
However, the actual impact of these initiatives falls short of expectations, indicating that much more awareness is needed to bring about substantial change.
