In Pakistan, the established cultural traditions create a significant obstacle to women’s inheritance rights, despite Islam’s fundamental emphasis on fairness, equality, and justice in women’s share of inherited property. Deep-seated cultural norms perpetuate a systemic denial of women’s rightful inheritance, resulting in structural violence and prolonged injustice. According to a recent survey by Awaz Foundation Pakistan, a staggering 86% of Pakistani women are being denied their share in inheritance. This stark disparity is the result of inaction which leads to far-reaching consequences, encompassing economic vulnerability, social exclusion, limited access to education and healthcare, and reinforcement of patriarchal norms.
Despite the clear and equitable provisions outlined in Islamic law (Shariah), women in Pakistan continue to face significant hurdles when claiming their rightful share of inheritance. According to a 2019 report by the Aurat Foundation, the exclusion of women from inheritance is most prevalent in rural areas, where customary laws are more deeply entrenched.
Dushka H. Saiyid writes in her article, “The Relevance of History” that despite being a liberal, Jinnah supported the Shariat Act of 1937 aiming to replace customary law in Punjab to ensure female heirs secure their due share according to Mohammedan law. Jinnah was well aware of the fact that the customary law doesn’t favour women for their inheritance the way Shariah law does.
In this clash of customs and religion, women are being sieged silently in the name of harmony. The culture resists the implementation of Islamic law in the context of women’s inheritance rights. Thus the liberating spirit of Islam is being held hostage by customs, condemning women to economic darkness.
Structural violence manifests through the two-pronged sword of delaying or denial tactics. The denial occurs due to the societal belief that women are secondary heirs, and their primary role is within their husbands’ families rather than their own. As a result, many families pressure women to forego their inheritance rights “for the sake of family harmony.” Thus, according to the Awaz Foundation Pakistan Survey, 70% of Pakistani women don’t ask for their share in inheritance due to the fear of losing their family.
Similarly, those women who try to claim their inheritance are often met with legal and familial obstacles that prevent them from accessing their rightful share. The manipulation of legal loopholes also allows male heirs to contest or delay the transfer of property indefinitely. In such cases, the legal system itself becomes complicit in denying women their inheritance, contributing to the structural violence they face.
Moreover, women often lack the resources and social capital to pursue lengthy legal battles. The courts, often slow-moving and burdened with backlogs, can take years to settle inheritance disputes. During this time, women were deprived of the economic security and autonomy that property ownership would provide them. As the adage goes, “Justice delayed is justice denied.” The delayed transfer of property is not just a legal inconvenience—it is a direct attack on the economic and social rights of women.
As the reality unveils that the disease lies not in the sacred teachings of Islam but in the tradition, the cure might be a cultural reboot. However, a cultural change doesn’t occur overnight and so it must be supported with legal and legislative actions aimed at harmonizing culture with Quran. To shield women from domestic coercion, economic disempowerment, and social marginalisation, it’s necessary for the concerned authorities to provide women’s rights a legal protection. The legal protection should not be in the form of merely providing women free access to legal aid or prioritizing their cases but the panacea of women’s inheritance dilemma lies in the automatic, simultaneous transfer of property to both male and female heirs.
To fortify women’s inheritance rights, the automatic transfer of property to female heirs must be reinforced with a critical safeguard: a mandatory one-year possession clause. This strategic provision ensures women retain uncontested ownership for a minimum of 12 months, shielding them from familial coercion and pressure to relinquish their inheritance to male counterparts through forced gifts or deceitful transactions. By incorporating this protective measure, the law guarantees women unencumbered possession, empowering them to exercise their rights without duress or manipulation, and cementing their financial autonomy and social dignity, in alignment with Islamic principles of justice and equality. This clause serves as a bulwark against patriarchal exploitation, securing women’s property rights and paving the way for a more equitable society.
In conclusion, as we strive to bridge the gender gap and foster a more inclusive society, it is imperative that we revisit and reform our inheritance laws. Ensuring women receive their rightful share at an early age can transform their lives and, by extension, the society at large. Let us not allow the customary law to overshadow the fundamental rights of women’s inheritance issued by Islam. Instead, let us focus on practical solutions that can promise one clear result: a Pakistan where women are economically safeguarded by the state itself.
Munazza Hameed
The writer is a social activist and founder of BloomHer Pakistan, a women empower-ment organization based in Malakand.
