EDITORIAL: Islam gave women the right to inherit property well over fourteen centuries ago, stating that from what is left by parents and those nearly related there is a share for men and a share for women, whether the property be small or large – a determinate share. Yet in this Islamic Republic that right is generally denied one way or another.
In one such a case a petitioner from Bannu, Syeda Fouzia Jalaal Shah, whose mother purportedly was deprived by male relatives of share in her father’s as well as her husband’s inheritance, approached the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) to seek relief from the custom of what she described as ‘Chaddar’ or ‘Parchi’ – prevalent in parts of the Bannu district – used either to deprive women of their inheritance right, or force them through jirgas to accept a share of a lot lesser value.
Similar are customs in other parts of the country known by different names, including ‘Haq Bakhshwai’ (a right forgiven) to provide legal protection to something blatantly undeserved and unjust by means of force or emotional blackmailing to have female family members surrender an important right in favour of male relatives.
A more common practice for appropriating women’s share in inherited property is to evade mandatory succession – the legal process for transferring ownership of deceased persons’ assets to their legal heirs, leading to acquisition of a succession certificate. That makes it unfeasible, rather impossible, to get the necessary paperwork done for women to claim their rightful share in inherited property.
In its landmark ruling announced on Wednesday, the FSC declared that all or any custom, by virtue of which any female member of a family is being, or has been, denied or deprived of her right of inheritance, have no legal force whatsoever. This should help many a victim of such acts of gross malfeasance to get what is their due.
The 21-page judgement of the FSC’s four-member bench, authored by justice Dr Syed Mohammad Anwar, also said that the relevant provincial departments, responsible for rectifying this social evil and protecting the property rights of women, granted to them by the Holy Quran and Sunnah, may also initiate criminal cases against the perpetrators of the crime of serious and grave cases under Section 498-A of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) vide the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2011, which was the object and reason for this amendment to the PPC.
Furthermore, suggested the court, actions taken in this regard may be publicised to promote Islamic values as per the principle of ‘Amr-bil-Maaroof’. However, if people can usurp female relatives’ inheritance rights despite clear Quranic injunctions, they would pay little heed to such messaging. The issue of implementation requires an effective, practical approach.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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