Analyzing the Legal Framework Regarding Women’s Right to Inheritance with Special Reference to the Role of Superior Courts of Pakistan

Abstract

The Constitution of Pakistan 1973 emphasis on protection of family, women and children. Theoretical claims are audacious yet the State must ensure implementation of rights of women. There are fields of practical life where women have not only been denied of their rights, but are quietened by virtue of malafide customary misleading assertions prevailing in the society. The motivation of this study is to investigate the causes of deprivation of a woman from her fundamental right to inherit property from her ancestor as prescribed under the law. Legal system of the State has poor record of implementation of law and judgments passed in favour of the said underprivileged community. As Pakistan is considered a male dominated society, its women stand dependent on male members of their family for realization of their rights. Under the law of Inheritance, share of a woman, generally, is half than share of an equal man. Still potent threat to inherit the half share is from those who otherwise are supposed to protect her, i.e., mostly her near male relatives. In other words, the male heirs who get double share than the female heirs, in most of the cases, are not willing to give them their due (half) right in the estate.  It, then, seems that the State, practically, has not succeeded in protecting the women rights of inheritance. It, not only, has failed to educate the male section of the society to give the women their rights but its legal system has also failed to protect their inheritance rights. There are discrepancies in judgements passed by the superior courts. In a certain case, the court enforces the inheritance rights of women, in another case, it declines to enforce the same. In a recent case, however, the Supreme Court has directed a brother to pay a fine of Rs. 3000000 to his sisters for filling a frivolous petition to deprive her from inheritance rights. Similarly, the Federal Shariat Court, in a case, has also directed to initiate criminal proceedings against those who deny the women's right of inheritance. This study adopts the doctrinal research approach to investigate the complexities surrounding women's right to inheritance, analyzing the role of superior courts of Pakistan in this respect.