Protection of legal status of women in Pakistan: An analysis of the role of Supreme Court

Protection of women's rights in Muslims societies is a subject of scholastic debate in the contemporary legal scholarship. The debate is even more hectic in Pakistan, notably, in the context of the Islamization process that has a constitutional mandate. This process was initiated after emergence of Pakistan on world's map and was accelerated by the military rule of Gen. Zia (1977–1988). One of the important implications of this process is considered to be deterioration in women's rights and status. The paper, by analyzing some judgments of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, posits that Pakistani judiciary has been a forerunner of women's rights though its domain has largely been confined to the constitutional framework. Moreover, the paper suggests that it would have been salutary to the Supreme Court's progressive role and posture had it been stepped into the neglected areas of women's legal status in Islamic Law, e. g. evidence, inheritance, and hudood laws, and assisted the contentious parties to settle them.