Senators push for faster relief to divorced women in landmark bill

A Senate sub-committee has given the green light to the Family Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which obliges the judges to determine monthly maintenance at the initial hearing of divorce cases.

The bill, moved by Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri, aims to alleviate the financial hardships faced by women during lengthy divorce proceedings.

The Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice’s sub-committee met under the chair of Senator Zamir Hussain Ghumro in Islamabad. The session reviewed the bill first introduced in the Senate on September 9, 2024.

Committee members agreed that unresolved divorce cases in Family Courts often leave women and children without financial support for years, noting that most affected women lack independent income.

Senator Zehri explained that about 90% of women in the country did not earn independently, and delays in maintenance decisions deepened their financial troubles.

She said the bill aimed to make courts set a fixed maintenance amount early on to provide immediate relief.

The proposed law mandates that courts determine maintenance at the initial hearing. If the defendant fails to pay by the 14th of each month, their right to present a defence will be withdrawn. In that case, courts can pass a decision based on the complainant’s claims and documents.

The Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Law and Justice noted that similar legal changes have already taken effect in Punjab.

He added that the Ministry’s role applied only to federal-level matters.

Senator Ghumro, who chaired the meeting, referred to Article 35 of the Constitution, which assigns the State the responsibility of protecting families, especially women and children.

He said that failure to ensure financial support during divorce proceedings proved harmful to vulnerable families and weakened social protections.

Senator Anusha Rahman Ahmad Khan, who attended the meeting, backed the proposed law. She praised the initiative and urged the introduction of more such proposals to protect women’s rights.

Both Senator Ghumro and Senator Rahman expressed full support for the bill after the meeting. The sub-committee passed it unanimously and sent it to the main Senate committee for further processing before it moved to the full House.