Widows entitled to employment, equality, dignity: SC

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has observed that widows, like all citizens, were entitled to employment, dignity, equality and autonomy without discrimination or reprisal.

A two-member bench of the apex court — comprising Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbassi — dismissed the appeal of Chief Commissioner Regional Tax Officer, Bahawalpur against an order passed by the Lahore High Court, Bahawalpur on December 21, 2022.

“Widowhood is not a diminution of identity but a life circumstance deserving of dignity, protection and equal opportunity,” says a five-page judgment authored by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah released on Wednesday.

The rights of widows should not be viewed as acts of state generosity, but as legal entitlements rooted in constitutional guarantees, statutory protections, and developing judicial principles.

“Furthermore, international human rights instruments to which Pakistan is a party, including the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), impose obligations on the State to dismantle legal and social barriers to women’s full economic participation.

“Widows, like all citizens, are entitled to employment, dignity, equality, and autonomy without discrimination or reprisal,” the court said, adding that the law must serve as a shield against exclusion, not a tool for reinforcing outdated social hierarchies.

“Denying a woman the right to employment on the basis of her remarriage is a blatant reinforcement of patriarchal control, seeking to subordinate her legal identity to societal expectations,” says the judgment.