In a country where women are on the receiving end of injustices, the Supreme Court has finally granted a woman her right to inheritance – after a 46-year-long legal battle. Zaitoon Bibi of Dera Ismail Khan could not get her due share of property from her father’s inheritance as her brothers kept denying it since 1976. Earlier, thanks to a decision by a sessions court in 2017 – and then by the Peshawar High Court – Zaitoon Bibi should have received her due share in property. But then in 2018 her brothers moved the Supreme Court against the high court decision in her favour. Now the apex court of the country has recognized Zaitoon Bibi’s share in her father’s property and dismissed the brothers’ appeal. The SC verdict is a welcome development given that in Pakistan many women do not get their inheritance and, more often than not, are made to ‘give up’ their inheritance in favour of the male members of their families. This practice has led to countless women being dependent on their brothers or their husbands, instead of being financially independent. This is also why many women are unable to leave abusive marriages or abusive situations at their own homes because they do not have the financial means for an escape. In this particular case too, the petitioners’ counsel argued that Zaitoon had gifted her inheritance right to her brothers nearly half a century ago. The Supreme Court rightly observed that Zaitoon Bibi was a minor at that time and could not gift her property to her brothers.
Unfortunately, Pakistan remains the second-worst country for women in the Global Gender Gap Index – women being subjected to abuse, violence and also denied their rights either through force, emotional blackmail in the garb of ‘culture and tradition’ or because they are not even aware of their own rights. In 2021, the Enforcement of Women’s Property Rights (Amendment) Bill was approved but,
despite what the laws say, we have seen the impunity accorded to those that insist – and they are in the majority – on depriving women of the rights law and religion both give them. Article 23 of our constitution says, “Every citizen shall have the right to acquire, hold and dispose of property in any part of Pakistan, subject to the constitution and any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the public interest.” Islam also gives women their inheritance rights – but when it comes to property and women, conveniently both legal and religious decrees are somehow forgotten. The fact that the decisions by lower courts were repeatedly challenged shows the obstinate behaviour of those who refuse to accept a woman’s share in property. Zaitoon Bibi’s case is a prime example that women have to fight long and hard battles before they can get their rights. For over four decades, a woman was denied her due share in inheritance. We hope it won’t take another 46 years for another Zaitoon Bibi to get what is her rightful inheritance.