Protection of Legal Status of Women in Pakistan: An Analysis of the Role of Supreme Court

International Journal of Physical and Social Sciences, Vol. 4, Issue 4, 2014

13 Pages Posted: 9 Apr 2014 Last revised: 11 Feb 2017

See all articles by Zia Ranjah

Zia Ranjah

International Islamic University, Islamabad

Shahbaz Ahmad Cheema

Punjab University - Law College

Date Written: April 8, 2014

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Women's Rights; Women's Status; Gender Equality; Islamization of Laws; Supreme Court; Pakistan; Islamic Law; Constitution; Hudood Laws

Suggested Citation

Ranjah, Zia and Cheema, Shahbaz Ahmad, Protection of Legal Status of Women in Pakistan: An Analysis of the Role of Supreme Court (April 8, 2014). International Journal of Physical and Social Sciences, Vol. 4, Issue 4, 2014, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2422496

Zia Ranjah

International Islamic University, Islamabad ( email )

IIIE, Block II
H-10
Islamabad, 44000
Pakistan

Shahbaz Ahmad Cheema (Contact Author)

Punjab University - Law College ( email )

University Law College
University of the Punjab
Lahore, PA Punjab 54000
Pakistan

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
375
Abstract Views
2,135
Rank
145,385
PlumX Metrics