The
legislative assembly of Pakistan has enacted a number of measures designed to give women more power in the areas of family, inheritance, revenue, civil and criminal laws. These measures are an attempt to safeguard women's right to freedom of speech and expression without
gender discrimination
Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primaril ...
. These measures are enacted keeping in mind the principles described by the Quran.
Law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
s such as the
Muslim Personal Law of Sharia (addressing a woman's right to inherit all forms of property), the Muslim Family Law Ordinance or MFLO (intended to protect women against unjust but prevailing practices in regards to marriage, divorce, polygamy and other personal relationships), and the
Hudood Ordinance
The Hudood Ordinances (Urdu ; also Romanized Hadood, Hadud, Hudud; singular form is ''Hadh'' or ''hadd'') are laws in Pakistan that were enacted in 1979 as part of then military ruler Zia-ul-Haq's "Islamisation" process. It replaced parts of the ...
have been legislated for ensuring the rights of women. The
Hudood Ordinance
The Hudood Ordinances (Urdu ; also Romanized Hadood, Hadud, Hudud; singular form is ''Hadh'' or ''hadd'') are laws in Pakistan that were enacted in 1979 as part of then military ruler Zia-ul-Haq's "Islamisation" process. It replaced parts of the ...
was seen as working at cross-purposes to the rights of women by victimizing women only, which was corrected by the introduction of
Women's Protection Bill
The Women's Protection Bill (Urdu: تحفظِ نسواں بل) which was passed by the National Assembly of Pakistan on 15 November 2006 is an attempt to amend the heavily criticised 1979 Hudood Ordinance laws which govern the punishment for rap ...
.
The Sexual Harassment Bill was created to ensure women's safety in public and work spaces, while the
Prevention of Anti-Women Practices Bill sought to constitutionally protect women against discriminatory social practices, such as forced marriages, intended to deprive women of their inheritance rights. The bill incorporated strong penalties for offenders. The
Acid Control and Acid Crime Prevention Bill aimed at controlling the import, production, transportation, hoarding, sale and use of acid, and provide legal support to acid burn victims. Penalties include imprisonment anywhere from fourteen years to life and fines of up to 1 million rupees.
Constitutional equal rights
Constitutionally, Pakistani Muslim women are able to vote, participate in elections, hold public offices and pursue most professions.
Laws which protect the rights and safety of women
* The Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill (2009)
* The Acid Control and Acid Crime Prevention Act (2010)
*
The Protection Against Harassment of Women in the Workplace Act (2010)
* The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act (2010)
* The Prevention of Anti-Women Practices Act (2011)
* The Women in Distress and Detention Fund (2011)
* The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act (targeted at preventing acid-related crimes) (2011)
* The Domestic Violence Prevention and Protection Bill (2012)
* The National Commission on the Status of Women Act (2012)
* The National Commission for Human Rights Act (2012)
*
Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018
The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018 is law in Pakistan which was enacted by the parliament in 2018 to legally provide equality to transgender people and to safeguard their rights. The law aims to legally recognise transgend ...
* The Dowry and Bridal Gifts Act
* The Women, Violence and Jirgas Act
* Marriage in the Quran
* Women Agriculture Bill 2019
* Sindh Women Agriculture Workers Act (SWAWA) of 2019 passed in 2021
Family laws
* The Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act (1939, amended in 1961)
* The Muslim Family Laws Ordinance (1961)
*
Hindu marriage laws in Pakistan
In Pakistan, there are two laws governing Hindu marriages. One is the Sindh Hindu Marriage act of 2016 which is applicable in the Sindh province of Pakistan and another is the Hindu marriage act of 2017 which is applicable in Islamabad Capital T ...
Marriageable age and divorce
Divorce in Pakistan Divorce in Pakistan is mainly regulated under the Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act 1939 amended in 1961 and the Family Courts Act 1964. Similar to global trends divorce rate is increasing gradually in Pakistan too. In Punjab (Pakistan), in 2014 kh ...
is mainly regulated by the Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act (1939, amended in 1961) and the Family Courts Act (1964). The Child Marriage Restraint Act or CMRA (1929) set the marriageable age for women at 16; in the province of Sindh, as per the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act, it is 18.
Inheritance
Under British rule, the
Married Women’s Property Act (1874) was in force, which primarily defined issues related to pre-marriage and post-marriage assets, liability and insurance. The
Muslim Personal Law
All the Muslims in India are governed by the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937. This law deals with marriage, succession, inheritance and charities among Muslims. The Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939 deals with the cir ...
(Shariat) Application Act (1937) and its successor, the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act (1961), provide Muslim women with limited inheritance rights; they received half of the amount assigned to sons, raised to two-thirds if there were no sons, and further complex calculations settled the remainder per sectarian principles.
While this right to inheritance existed on paper, customarily it was not observed in fact,
so the
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provin ...
enacted strong provisions in sections 498 A and 498 C of the
Prevention of Anti-Women Practices (Criminal Law Amendment) Act (2011) to ensure women received their proper inheritance.
Pakistan, as a signatory of the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), is expected to progress towards eliminating property discrimination and recognizing the equality of citizens as a fundamental right.
Law of Evidence
Until 1987, the British
Evidence Act
Evidence Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Australia, India, Malaysia and the United Kingdom relating to evidence. The Bill for an Act with this short title will have been known as a Evidence Bill during its ...
of 1872 remained applicable in Pakistan, which otherwise did not have any laws regarding gender discrimination in the legal system. Since the 1970s when the process of
Islamization
Islamization, Islamicization, or Islamification ( ar, أسلمة, translit=aslamāh), refers to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim. Societal Islamization has historically occur ...
under General Zia Ul Haq started in Pakistan, many laws have been altered according to Islamic Sharia. As part of the same process, the Evidence Act was replaced by Qanun-e-Shahada on 26 October 1984, though it did not come into effect until 1987.
As of that year, in cases of
Hadd
''Hudud'' (Arabic: ''Ḥudūd'', also transliterated ''hadud'', ''hudood''; plural of ''hadd'', ) is an Arabic word meaning "borders, boundaries, limits". In the religion of Islam it refers to punishments that under Islamic law (sharīʿah) are ...
, the evidence of women is not admissible. Further, in cases involving financial or other future obligations, written instructions and documents must be attested by either two men or one man and two women.
In other legal proceedings it is left to the judge's discretion whether to admit a woman's testimony as equal.
According to Nida Usman Chaudhry:
Other
In 2021 the
Lahore High Court
The Lahore High Court () is based in Lahore, Pakistan. It was established as a high court on 21 March 1882. The Lahore High Court has jurisdiction over Punjab (Pakistan). The High Court's principal seat is in Lahore, but there are benches in th ...
banned the use of
virginity tests in cases where women claim they were raped.
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See also
*
National Commission on Status of Women
National Commission on Status of Women (NCSW) ( ur, ) is a Pakistani statutory body established by the President Pervez Musharraf, under the XXVI Ordinance dated 17 July 2000. It is an outcome of the national and international commitments of the G ...
*
Women's Protection Bill
The Women's Protection Bill (Urdu: تحفظِ نسواں بل) which was passed by the National Assembly of Pakistan on 15 November 2006 is an attempt to amend the heavily criticised 1979 Hudood Ordinance laws which govern the punishment for rap ...
*
Women in Pakistan
Women in Pakistan make up 48.76% of the population according to the 2017 census of Pakistan. Women in Pakistan have played an important role throughout Pakistan's history and they are allowed to vote in elections since 1956. In Pakistan, women ...
*
Hudood Ordinances
The Hudood Ordinances (Urdu ; also Romanized Hadood, Hadud, Hudud; singular form is ''Hadh'' or ''hadd'') are laws in Pakistan that were enacted in 1979 as part of then military ruler Zia-ul-Haq's "Islamisation" process. It replaced parts of the ...
*
Sharia
Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...
*
Hermeneutics of feminism in Islam
Hermeneutics of feminism in Islam is a system of interpreting the sacred texts of that religion, the Quran and Sunnah. Hermeneutics is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially of sacred texts, and Islamic feminism has a long his ...
*
Islamic feminism
Islamic feminism is a form of feminism concerned with the role of women in Islam. It aims for the full equality of all Muslims, regardless of gender, in public and private life. Islamic feminists advocate women's rights, gender equality, and soci ...
*
Acid Survivors Trust International
Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI) is a UK-based international non-profit organization aiming to end acid and burns violence at a global level. In addition to public education and awareness campaigns, ASTI supports organizations in Ban ...
*
Acid throwing
An acid attack, also called acid throwing, vitriol attack, or vitriolage, is a form of violent assault involving the act of throwing acid or a similarly corrosive substance onto the body of another "with the intention to disfigure, maim, to ...
*
Aurat March
*
Divorce in Pakistan Divorce in Pakistan is mainly regulated under the Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act 1939 amended in 1961 and the Family Courts Act 1964. Similar to global trends divorce rate is increasing gradually in Pakistan too. In Punjab (Pakistan), in 2014 kh ...
*
Feminism in Pakistan
Feminism in Pakistan refers to the set of movements which aim to define, establish, and defend the rights of women in Pakistan.This may involve the pursuit of equal political, economic, and social rights, alongside equal opportunity. These movemen ...
*
Honour killing in Pakistan
Honour killings in Pakistan are known locally as ''karo-kari'' ( ur, ). Pakistan currently have the top number of documented and estimated honour killings per capita of any country in the world; about 1/5 of the world's honour killings are comm ...
*
Jirga
A jirga ( ps, جرګه, ''jərga'') is an assembly of leaders that makes decisions by consensus according to Pashtunwali, the Pashtun social code. It is conducted in order to settle disputes among the Pashtuns, but also by members of other ethnic ...
*
Me Too movement (Pakistan)
The #MeToo movement (Urdu: ) in Pakistan is modeled after the international #MeToo movement and began in late 2018 in Pakistani society. It has been used as a springboard to stimulate a more inclusive, organic movement, adapted to local settings, ...
*
Modesty patrol
*
Polygamy in Pakistan
*
Hindu marriage laws in Pakistan
In Pakistan, there are two laws governing Hindu marriages. One is the Sindh Hindu Marriage act of 2016 which is applicable in the Sindh province of Pakistan and another is the Hindu marriage act of 2017 which is applicable in Islamabad Capital T ...
*
Rape in Pakistan
Punishment for rape in Pakistan under the Pakistani laws is either death penalty or imprisonment of between ten and twenty-five years. For cases related to gang rape, the punishment is either death penalty or life imprisonment. DNA test and othe ...
*
Swara
Svara or swara (Devanagari: स्वर, generally pronounced as ''swar'') is a Sanskrit word that connotes simultaneously a breath, a vowel, the sound of a musical note corresponding to its name, and the successive steps of the octave or '' ...
*
Vani
Vani ( ka, ვანი) is a town in Imereti region of a western Georgia, at the Sulori river (a tributary of the Rioni river), 41 km southwest from the regional capital Kutaisi. The town with the population of 3,744 (2014) is an administra ...
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*
*
:Pakistani women lawyers
*
Forced Conversions in Pakistan
General:
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Human rights in Pakistan
The situation of Human Rights in Pakistan ( ur, ) is complex as a result of the country's diversity, large population, its status as a developing country and a sovereign Islamic democracy with a mixture of both Islamic and secular law. The Const ...
*
Women in Islam
The experiences of Muslim women ( ''Muslimāt'', singular مسلمة ''Muslimah'') vary widely between and within different societies. At the same time, their adherence to Islam is a shared factor that affects their lives to a varying degree ...
*
Women's rights
Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
*
Muslim personal law
All the Muslims in India are governed by the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937. This law deals with marriage, succession, inheritance and charities among Muslims. The Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939 deals with the cir ...
*
Punjab Commission on the Status of Women
*
Status of women's testimony in Islam
*
Pakistan penal code
The Pakistan Penal Code (; ), abbreviated as PPC, is a penal code for all offences charged in Pakistan. It was originally prepared by Lord Macaulay with a great consultation in 1860 on the behalf of the Government of India as the Indian Penal ...
References
{{Constitution of Pakistan
Women in Pakistan
Women's rights in Pakistan
Family law in Pakistan
Women's rights legislation
Acts of the Parliament of Pakistan
History of women in Pakistan