Pakistan’s top court says women’s inheritance is a “divine right”
Pakistan’s Supreme Court has ruled that women’s inheritance is a “divinely bestowed” right that cannot be overridden by culture
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (MNTV) — Pakistan’s Supreme Court has ruled that women’s inheritance is a “divinely bestowed” right that cannot be overridden by culture, tradition, or family pressure, and ordered the state to actively ensure women receive the shares guaranteed to them under Islamic law, Pakistan Today reported.
In a strongly worded seven-page judgment released Saturday, the court said the government must create accessible and proactive mechanisms allowing women to claim inheritance “without delay, fear or dependence on lengthy litigation.”
The ruling, authored by Justice Athar Minallah, concerns a case heard on Aug. 29 and was issued after his Nov. 13 resignation. Minallah stepped down in protest against the 27th Constitutional Amendment, which, he argued, weakened the Supreme Court by transferring its ultimate authority to a new Federal Constitutional Court.
“It is incumbent upon the state under the Constitution and the clear injunctions of Islam to ensure the effective and unfettered realization of women’s right to inheritance,” the ruling said.
Case centered on 20-year property dispute
The Supreme Court upheld a March 3, 2023, Sindh High Court decision dismissing an appeal by Abrar Hussain, who had spent years contesting judgments against him in a property dispute with his sister, Bibi Shahida.
Shahida first approached authorities in 2015, saying she had been denied her rightful share since her father’s death in 2002 and again after two siblings died. Courts consistently found that Hussain had seized sole control of the estate, excluding all other heirs.
The Supreme Court said Hussain “had no case on merits,” accusing him of exploiting the legal system to “delay and frustrate” inheritance rights — calling his conduct an “abuse of process.”
Customary practices declared legally void
The court reinforced earlier findings of the Federal Shariat Court, declaring entrenched customs such as Chaddar, Parchi, and Haq Bakhshwai — all of which deprive women of inheritance — “un-Islamic” and therefore void in law.
Inheritance rights, the judgment stressed, are “not a concession granted by human law but a divinely ordained command.” Attempts to block them, it said, are “remnants of ignorance which Islam came to abolish.”
The court warned that ignoring violations of women’s inheritance “defies the spirit of the Constitution and the express command of Almighty Allah,” adding that a state that fails to enforce these rights neglects its duty to uphold “equity, faith and justice.”
Orders to the state
The ruling directed the government to:
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ensure women are informed of their legal rights
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help them secure their shares without intimidation or delay
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hold accountable anyone who denies women inheritance through “coercion, deceit or undue influence”
Hussain was ordered to pay Rs500,000 ($1759) in costs within seven days, to be distributed among the lawful heirs identified by the trial court.
The judgment also restated Shahida’s earlier allegations: that Hussain illegally occupied the entire property, rented out portions without consent, and withheld rental income. Hussain claimed the property had been gifted to him, but this was rejected by courts in 2019, 2021 and 2023.
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