Women constitute more than half of the population of Pakistan. However, they seldom get financial freedom due to the patriarchal nature of the society and structural impediments favouring gender imbalances. Breaking from the past, the Supreme Court has boldly ruled the law by holding that women are entitled to maintenance in matrimonial matters. In the latest case of Ambreen Akram, the main questions raised were: (i) when does a muslim woman become entitled to the maintenance money within a marriage? (ii) under what conditions, if any, the husband must be excused from his marital obligation to pay the maintenance to his wife? The Supreme Court of Pakistan adjudicated the matter in favour of the wife and the reasoning advanced by the Court merits consideration; the instant write up will highlight the reasons of the court’s decision.
It may be noted that fundamental right of dignity and privacy guaranteed in the constitution requires that a woman’s right to privacy be respected. In the first instance, the court did not approve of the practice of asking unnecessary personal questions to women. In the case at hand, the moot question before the court was whether the woman was entitled to maintenance between the period of marriage and her actual ‘rukhsati’ (a ritual ceremony pegged into customs that formally sees of departure of bride from her parent’s house). The court, in the given case, noted that ‘rukhsati’ is not a legal construct and cannot be considered the basis of denying the financial obligations of the husband. The family trial court and the High Court had erred by not computing the time period between the marriage and ‘rukhsati’ for determining maintenance amount. The approach of the Supreme Court gets fortified by many a reason in Islamic Law as the concept of ‘rukhsati’ was foreign to Arabia. On a deeper introspection, it may be noted that Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) went to live with Hazrat Khadija at her house after their marriage. Besides, it may be noted that the ‘rukhsati’ and akin concepts are product of patriarchal mindset to lessen the financial obligation of a man towards his wife and children. Justice Mansoor Ali Shah authored the judgement in very temperate language and recorded the essence of law quite eloquently. Finally, it must be observed that in order to make the environment and society a safer place for women and breaking the stereotypical views of the society, the trust in courts of the country gets revived after every such decision that aims at removing gender imbalances in the country.
“On Earth there is no heaven, but there are pieces of it.” -Jules Renard
