Islamic Inheritance Rights for Women in Pakistan: Exploring Legal Safeguards and Social Challenges

Amina Nisar; Rafidah binti Mohamad  Cusairi

doi:10.32350/jitc.151.09

Amina Nisar School of Languages, Civilization and Philosophy, Universiti Utara, Malaysia https://orcid.org/0009-0009-7316-4333
Rafidah binti Mohamad Cusairi School of Languages, Civilisation & Philosophy, University Utara, Malaysia https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1906-6338

DOI: https://doi.org/10.32350/jitc.151.09

Keywords: inheritance, inheritance denial in Punjab, Islamic Family Law, social barriers to inheritance, women’s rights in Pakistan

Abstract

Abstract Views: 0

Women's right to inheritance is often denied outright, despite the protective provisions enshrined in both Pakistan’s Constitution and Shari‘ah law across Punjab. This study examines Islamic inheritance rights for women within the framework of family law by exploring the legal and social barriers they face in Pakistan. It investigates the underlying reasons why women forgo their inheritance rights, as well as the challenges they encounter when attempting to assert them. The study also explores the available options for women and the obstacles that hinder them from exercising autonomy in pursuing these choices. A qualitative research approach was adopted, with data collected through in-depth interviews. Using purposive sampling, the study selected nineteen women, six men, and three legal experts from the Punjab province as participants. Thematic analysis was employed to interpret the data. Findings reveal that women face significant challenges in accessing their legal inheritance under Islamic Shari‘ah inheritance laws, primarily due to limited awareness of their rights, familial pressure, and cultural norms that discourage women from claiming their rightful share. This research reinforces existing literature on women’s Islamic inheritance rights and underscores the urgent need for policy interventions. It calls upon the Pakistani government to enhance the enforcement of inheritance laws and implement public awareness campaigns that empower women to claim their entitlements.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Abbas, Muhammad Sher. "Honour Killings in Pakistan and Status of Women in Islamic Law." Available at SSRN 3760294 (2021).

Abbasi, Muhammad Zubair. “Islamic Constitutionalism in Pakistan: Nature, Impact, and Compatibility with International Human Rights Law.” J. Int'l L. Islamic L. 18 (2022): 3-14.

Abubakar, Fatum. “Islamic Family Law Reform: Early Marriage and Criminalization (a Comparative Study of Legal Law in Indonesia and Pakistan).” Al-Ahkam Jurnal Ilmu Syari’ah Dan Hukum 4, no. 2 (December 31, 2019). https://doi.org/10.22515/al-ahkam.v4i2.1667.

Agha, Nadia H. Kinship, Patriarchal Structure and Women’s Bargaining with Patriarchy in Rural Sindh, Pakistan. Springer, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6859-3.

Ahmad, Ishaq., Amir Alam, Najib Khan, and Rahat Ullah. “Inequality Regimes, Patriarchal Connectivity, and Women’s Right to Property Inheritance in Rural Pakistan.” Journal of Positive School Psychology (2023): 1251-67.

Akhtar, Naseem., Muhammad Hammad Lakhvi, and Arshad Munir. “Women Rights in Pashtun Tribes of Pakistan: Challenges and Opportunities.” Al-NASR, (2023): 35–46. https://doi.org/10.53762/alnasr.02.02.e03.

Ali, Muhammad Zubair., and Ashraf Ali. “Women’s Right to Equality with Reference to Citizenship Laws in Pakistan.” Research Journal of Social Sciences and Economics Review 4, no. 2 (2023): 54–60. https://doi.org/10.36902/rjsser-vol4-iss2-2023(54-60).

Arya, Sumedha., Pamela Wilton, David Page, Laurence Boma‐Fischer, Georgina Floros, Rochelle Winikoff, Jerome Teitel, Katie Dainty, and Michelle Sholzberg. "“Everything Was Blood When It Comes to Me”: Understanding the Lived Experiences of Women with Inherited Bleeding Disorders." Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis 18, no. 12 (2020): 3211-21.

Bahrami-Rad, Duman. “Keeping It in the Family: Female Inheritance, Inmarriage, and the Status of Women.” Journal of Development Economics 153 (November 2021): 102714. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2021.102714.

Bari, Mazhar Hassan. “The Challenges and Prospects of Democratization in the Muslim World: The Case of Pakistan.” Cuni.cz, (2019). http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11956/104974.

Basri, Halimah., Andi Miswar, Hamka Hasan, Mustaqim Pabbajah, and Subehan Khalik. “Inheritance Rights of Women in Makassar Society: A Study of Living Qur’ān and Its Implications for Islamic Law.” Samarah: Jurnal Hukum Keluarga Dan Hukum Islam 6, no. 2 (October 3, 2022): 537-555. https://doi.org/10.22373/sjhk.v6i2.13882.

Bhalotra, Sonia., Rachel Brulé, and Sanchari Roy. “Women’s Inheritance Rights Reform and the Preference for Sons in India.” Journal of Development Economics 146 (September 2020): 102275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2018.08.001.

Bibi, Anbreen., Bahadar Nawab Khattak, Saddaf Ayub, and Abda Khalid. “Unveiling Obstacles: A Comprehensive Examination of Women's Struggles in Acquiring and Administering Ownership of Immoveable Property.” Kurdish Studies 12, no. 4 (2024): 1497-507.

Bush, Antonio A., and Mauriell H. Amechi. “Conducting and Presenting Qualitative Research in Pharmacy Education.” Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning 11, no. 6 (June 2019): 638–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cptl.2019.02.030.

Campbell, Steve., Melanie Greenwood, Sarah Prior, Toniele Shearer, Kerrie Walkem, Sarah Young, Danielle Bywaters, and Kim Walker. “Purposive Sampling: Complex or Simple? Research Case Examples.” Journal of Research in Nursing 25, no. 8 (2020): 652–61. https://doi.org/10.1177/1744987120927206.

Cheema, Shahbaz Ahmad. “Section 4 of Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961, Pakistan: An Exploration of Interpretive Tensions.” SSRN Electronic Journal (2023). https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4388281.

Coulson, N. J. Islamic Family Law: Progress in Pakistan. In Changing Law in Developing Countries. Routledge, 2021.

Crankshaw, Tamaryn L., Jane Freedman, and Victoria M Mutambara. “Intergenerational Trajectories of Inherited Vulnerabilities Amongst Young Women Refugees in South Africa.” Comparative Migration Studies 11, no. 1 (2023): 1-18.

Daibu, A. A., S. A Daibu, and J Aimienrovbiye. “Women’s Right to Inheritance in Africa: The Nigerian Experience.” Africa Nazarene University Law Journal 6, no. 1 (2018): 28–56.

Djurfeldt, Agnes Andersson. “Gendered Land Rights, Legal Reform and Social Norms in the Context of Land Fragmentation-a Review of the Literature for Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.” Land Use Policy 90 (2020): 104305.

Feci, Simona. “The Exclusion of Women from Inheritance Rights: An Unresolved Issue?.” In Negotiations of Gender and Property through Legal Regimes (14th-19th Century), 29-51: Brill Nijhoff, 2021.

Gaddis, Isis., Rahul Lahoti, and Hema Swaminathan. “Women's Legal Rights and Gender Gaps in Property Ownership in Developing Countries.” Population and Development Review 48, no. 2 (2022): 331-77.

Glazebrook, Tricia., Samantha Noll, and Emmanuela Opoku. “Gender Matters: Climate Change, Gender Bias, and Women’s Farming in the Global South and North.” Agriculture 10, no. 7 (July 3, 2020): 267. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture10070267.

Haque, Muhammad Faizul., Sohirin Mohammad Solihin, Nadzrah Ahmad, and Mohd Shah Jani. “Women Rights to Inheritance in Muslim Family Law: An Analytical Study.” International Journal of Islamic Business & Management 4, no. 1 (April 13, 2020): 15–26. https://doi.org/10.46281/ijibm.v4i1.543.

Harari, Mariaflavia. “Women’s Inheritance Rights and Bargaining Power: Evidence from Kenya.” Economic Development and Cultural Change, September 21, (2018). https://doi.org/10.1086/700630.

Hashmi, Syed Noor Ul Hassan., Ghulum Safoora, Hafiz Muhammad Arshad Iaqbal, and Hamad Elsayed Khalil Mohamed. "Examining Some Misconceptions About Islamic Women's Rights from Pakistan's Perspective." Multicultural Education 8, no. 12 (2022): 65-69.

Hassan, Ahmad., Muhammad, Ahmad Qadri, and Muhammad Saleem. “The Muslim Family Law Ordinance.” Issue 58 (2021). https://pu.edu.pk/images/journal/history/PDF-FILES/25_58_1_21.pdf.

Hsu, Wen‐Tsung., and Hsiang‐Lan Chen. “Family Firms' Social Responsibility: Exercise of Family Control Versus Family Dynasty Succession.” Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences/Revue Canadienne des Sciences de l'Administration (2023), https://doi.org/10.1002/cjas.1718

Hussain, Amjad., Muhammad Arif Saeed, and Shahzada Aamir Mushtaq. “Application of Human Rights Laws in Pakistan: A Study with Reference to International Bill of Human Rights.” Journal of Business and Social Review in Emerging Economies 7, no. 4 (2021): 963-76.

Khaleel, Badriah., Khalid Ahmed, and Syed Sajid Ali Shah. “Critical Discourse Analysis of Pakistani Inheritance Law and Justice System for Women.” Pakistan Social Sciences Review 7, no. 3 (September 30, 2023): 87–100. https://doi.org/10.35484/pssr.2023(7-III)08.

Khan, Javeria., Dr Asma Khalid, and Dr Adeela Rehman. “Women’s Inheritance Rights in the West Pakistan Muslim Personal Law, Shari‘aht Act 1962: An Analysis of Practices.” Journal of Gender and Social Issues, June 30, (2022): 63-74 https://jgsi.fjwu.edu.pk/jgsi/article/view/338.

Khan, Muhammad Imran. “The Treatment of Women within Pakistani Domestic Legal System: A Relativist Challenge to the Universalist Concept of Human Rights, the Potential of European Union’s Mandate of External Relations and Actions for Addressing the Challenge.” Unife.it, June 21, (2022). http://hdl.handle.net/11392/2489863.

Kiger, Michelle E., and Lara Varpio. “Thematic Analysis of Qualitative Data.” Medical Teacher 42, no. 8 (May 1, 2020): 846–54. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2020.1755030.

Leghorn, Lisa., and Katherine Parker. Woman's Worth: Sexual Economics and the World of Women. Routledge, 2022.

Makino, Momoe. “Dowry in the Absence of the Legal Protection of Women’s Inheritance Rights.” Review of Economics of the Household 17, no. 1 (2019): 287–321. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11150-017-9377-x.

Masud, Muhammad Khalid. “Modernizing Islamic Law in Pakistan: Reform or Reconstruction?” Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies 42, no. 2 (2019): 73–97. https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/340/article/779684/summary.

Megannon, Vayda. “The Lived Experience of Inheritance for Muslim Widows in Contemporary South Africa.” Uct.ac.za, (2020). https://open.uct.ac.za/handle/11427/32861.

Meinzen-Dick, Ruth., Agnes Quisumbing, Cheryl Doss, and Sophie Theis. “Women’s Land Rights as a Pathway to Poverty Reduction: Framework and Review of Available Evidence.” Agricultural Systems 172 (June 2019): 72–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2017.10.009.

Minnee, R. “Impact of Marriage and Social Norms in Determining Women’s Property Rights within the Muslim Communities of Bangladesh.” repository.uel.ac.uk, October 14, 2022. https://repository.uel.ac.uk/item/8v1qq.

Mookerjee, Sulagna. “Gender-Neutral Inheritance Laws, Family Structure, and Women’s Status in India.” The World Bank Economic Review 33, No. 2 (2019): 498-515, https://doi.org/10.1093/wber/lhx004.

Parveen, Sajida., Bilal Ahmad, Tahira Iram, and Yasir Rasool. “Women Empowerment in Inherited Land Rights: End of Violence in Rural Areas.” The Journal of Adult Protection 24, no. 5/6 (2022): 231–42.

Polok, Beata. “Influence of Islamic Law, Social Customs and Practices on the Women's Inheritance Rights in Pakistan.” Manchester Journal of Transnational Islamic Law & Practice 18, no. 2 (2022): 101-120.

Ramli, Mohd., Muhammad Rosele, Adang Darmawan Achmad, and Hudzaifah Qotadah. “Women’s Right of Inheritance in Islam: Between the Shari‘ah Provision and Demand of Socio-Cultural Changes.” Khazanah Hukum 5, no. 2 (2023): 171–82. https://doi.org/10.15575/kh.v5i2.29181.

Raza ul Habib, Ahmad et al. “Empowering Women: Navigating Islamic Rights and Cultural Hurdles in Pakistan.” Al-Hameed Islamic Studies Research Journal 3, no. 3 (2024): 2959–1767.

Rivera, Maria., Karlheinz Knickel, José María Díaz-Puente, and Ana Afonso. “The Role of Social Capital in Agricultural and Rural Development:Lessons Learnt from Case Studies in Seven Countries.” Sociologia Ruralis 59, no. 1 (2019): 66–91. https://doi.org/10.1111/soru.12218.

Rubab, Iram et al. “Do Legal and Institutional Reforms in Punjab, Pakistan Protect Women’s Inherited Land Rights?” Journal of International Women’s Studies 25, no. 4 (2023): 1-17

Rubab, Iram. “Status of Women Inheritors in Islam: Institutional Hurdles in Punjab, Pakistan.” AL-QAWĀRĪR 2, no. 04 (2021): 13-24.

Saigol, R. The Women’s Action Forum, Pakistan: Ideology and Functioning. In Re-Interrogating Civil Society in South Asia. Routledge India. 2021.

Saleem, Anam., and Ghania Khan. “Constitutional Safeguard and Plight of Women in Pakistan.” Pakistan Journal of Multidisciplinary Research 1, no. 1 (2020): 14-24.

Shahjehan, Hira., Sami Ur, and Rahman. “Laws Relating to Polygamy in Pakistan: Rights of the Polygamous Wives.” L. Rev 5 (2021): 25-42. https://www.iiu.edu.pk/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ILR-Vol-5-Issue-2-Article-2-15042022.pdf.

Tarmizi, Tarmizi., None Gustika Sandra, Jumra Jumra, and None Sakti Yadi. “The Dynamics of Determining Men and Women Parts in Matters of Inheritance: A Study of Islamic Law.” Jurnal Diskursus Islam 10, no. 2 (August 31, 2022): 271–89. https://doi.org/10.24252/jdi.v10i2.30172.

Udoh, Oluwakemi D., Sheriff F. Folarin, and Victor A. Isumonah. “The Influence of Religion and Culture on Women’s Rights to Property in Nigeria.” Edited by Emmanuel O Amoo. Cogent Arts & Humanities 7, no. 1 (April 17, 2020). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2020.1750244.

Umair, Muhammad., Shozab Ali Raza Abbasi, Faheem Aslam, and Abdul Rashid. “Diluting the Patriarchal Dominance: Review of Developing Feminist Discourse in Pakistani Context.” VFAST Transactions on Education and Social Sciences 11, no. 1 (March 31, 2023): 202–7. https://doi.org/10.21015/vtess.v11i1.1392.

Umar, Bacha. “Women’s Right to Inheritance Is Enshrined in Islam and the Law — Why Do They Still Have to Fight for It?” DAWN.COM, March 5, 2022. https://www.dawn.com/news/1678231.

Yaseen, Abida., Ali Shouzab, and Taimoor Raza Sultan. “Inheritance of a Daughter: An Analysis Based on Islam and Laws Prevalent in Pakistan." Pakistan Journal of International Affairs 5, no. 2 (2022).

Zahid, Ghulam Rasul. “Family Laws in Pakistan: A Comparative Study of Islamic and Civil Code.” Jahan-e-Tahqeeq 4, no. 4 (2021): 280-86.

Zulfiqar, Ghazal Mir. “Inequality Regimes, Patriarchal Connectivity, and the Elusive Right to Own Land for Women in Pakistan.” Journal of Business Ethics, March 21, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-022-05097-y.