An unequal partnership.

Islamabad: RECENTLY, our prime minister attracted wide criticism for blaming the rising divorce rate on the influence of foreign media. Pakistanis usually pride themselves on their traditional family values and the respect they have for the sanctity of marriage. Yet Pakistan is one of the easiest countries in which to obtain a divorce, especially for men. Breaking up a marriage has minimal consequences as there is no concept of joint or marital ownership or income; maintenance awarded to children is usually paltry and a wife, even after a lifetime of service to her family, has no right to claim a share in the assets or income of her husband.

The clergy in Pakistan has had a big influence on the formulation of laws governing marital relationships. The Rashid Commission that was set up to formulate Pakistan's family laws merely recommended that a talaq should be registered but even this was unpalatable! Maulana Thanvi, representing the clergy, stated that the registration of divorce or any intervention of the courts was "ridiculous and repugnant to Sharia". He reasoned that if a man's right to divorce was fettered in any way including through registration, it would prompt couples to resort to "vice and adultery" to obtain a divorce, following which "Muslim society would sink to the lowest depths of disgrace". On this point only he was overruled.

Some 60 years later, we are at the same juncture. Judges rule according to their individual perceptions of religious rules and some believe that under Islam a man has an unfettered right to divorce. Despite judicial precedents, high courts have made inconsistent decisions, some holding that for an effective divorce the talaq has to be notified to the Union Council and the 90 days waiting period has to expire, while others say that a talaq is effective even if it is not notified.

The injustice to one half of the population, many of whom are dependent upon the goodwill of the other half, is the most glaring example of social inequality but receives no attention. Each commission set up to recommend changes to the law made known their concern about the lack of any recognition of matrimonial assets or income. The Zahid Commission in 1993 stated that "at the very heart of the vulnerability to which women are exposed is the lack of sharing of assets and property upon termination of marriage". The Zahid Commission went on to state that this principle of sharing is in accordance with the principle of mata'a or...