ISLAMABAD: In a precedent-setting decision with far-reaching implications for women’s rights, Pakistan’s Supreme Court has ruled that a woman’s right to financial maintenance (nafaqa) begins from the solemnisation of marriage — regardless of consummation or rukhsati (the bride’s formal departure to her husband’s home).
According to Dawn, one of the largest English-language daily, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah issued the ruling on Thursday in the case of Ambreen Akram, who had challenged a 2015 Lahore High Court (LHC) decision denying her maintenance on grounds that her marriage had not been consummated.
“It flows unconditionally from the solemnisation of a valid marriage and constitutes a binding legal duty,” Justice Shah wrote in the 15-page judgement, describing the LHC’s earlier reasoning as “deeply patriarchal.”
The court clarified that a husband’s duty of maintenance cannot be suspended merely because physical access has not occurred. The only exception, it said, is when the husband can prove that his wife “wholly and without justification” withdrew from the marital relationship.
“Absent such proof, the obligation to provide maintenance persists,” the ruling stated.
The judgement observed that the case raises two fundamental questions at the intersection of Islamic law, constitutional rights and social realities: When does a Muslim woman become entitled to maintenance within a marriage?
And, under what circumstances, may a man be excused from his marital obligation to pay maintenance to his wife?
At stake is not merely the contemporary interpretation of Islamic law but the very meaning of marriage (Nikah) and marital relationship, the scope of financial independence of a woman within marriage and the Constitution’s promise to uphold the dignity, privacy and equality of an individual, the protection of the family and participation of women in all spheres of life, the judgement explained.
Case background
Ambreen Akram married Asadullah Khan in November 2012, but her rukhsati was delayed for over a year. She filed for maintenance in October 2013.
A family court in Faisalabad upheld her claim, awarding Rs3,000 per month, later increased to Rs5,000. However, the LHC overturned that decision in 2015, citing non-consummation. Asadullah subsequently divorced her in May 2014.
The Supreme Court has now restored Akram’s entitlement, ruling that she was owed maintenance from the date of marriage until the completion of her iddat (post-divorce waiting period).
Upholding constitutional rights
Justice Shah emphasised that Islamic jurisprudence, statutory enactments and constitutional protections affirm that a wife’s right to maintenance is neither dependent on consummation nor subject to her husband’s discretion.
This interpretation, he added, upholds constitutional guarantees of dignity (Article 14), equality (Article 25) and protection of the family (Article 35).
“In a patriarchal society where economic dependence often fuels systemic injustice, the right to maintenance must be safeguarded as an essential constitutional, legal and ethical entitlement,” the court declared.
“Any attempt to curtail it must therefore be subjected to strictest constitutional and jurisprudential scrutiny, the judgement emphasised.
The Supreme Court set aside the LHC judgement by holding that Ambreen Akram’s entitlement to maintenance of Rs5000 per month began on the date the marriage was solemnised. It will include maintenance for the period of Iddat.
The ruling not only overturns the LHC judgement but also sets a precedent likely to influence future cases concerning women’s financial rights under Islamic family law in Pakistan.
