Table Of Contents
Wife Maintenance in Pakistan after Divorce:
Advocate Nazia in Lahore is an expert lawyer for wife maintenance in Pakistan. Why should payment be made to the wife? Islamic law maintains that there is no relationship between the husband and wife after divorce, either physical or otherwise. Therefore, there is no legal basis for justifying such payment. This issue should not be confused with the maintenance of children because Islamic law does impose a duty on the husband for children.
Household Assets:
Furthermore, the case should not be confused with the division of household assets, either for which provision is also made in Islamic law. Here are different theories in the West for justifying the payment of alimony. The first theory is the compensation theory, which construes payment to the wife as explained for having been tied up in the knot of marriage for some period. This theory lacks a moral basis as it reduces the sacredness of the marriage contract into one of the employer-employee relationships in which a pension is justified after retirement or parting of ways. Furthermore, this theory reduces the contract of marriage into a commercial agreement that is akin to prostitution.
Wife Maintenance in Pakistan:
The rehabilitation theory believes that the woman needs some time to adjust to society. Till such time that she does, the husband must contribute to her financial security. Islamic law imposes the duty of providing wife maintenance in Pakistan and residence to the divorced wife during her waiting period. In the case of the husband’s death, she receives a share from the husband’s estate. There is no compelling legal basis for maintenance after the waiting period. Whatever is said for the justification of alimony in the West is not sufficient for providing a legal or moral basis for such payments; there is no legal basis for alimony. The Shah Bano case was about an aged woman of 62 who was divorced and left destitute; it had emotional undertones.
sympathy for the woman:
The sympathy for the woman is justified, but there is no sympathy for a system that does not apply the provisions of Islamic law in toto, where there is the provision of zakat, the method of wilayah that imposes a duty on relatives for providing maintenance and finally that places a burden on the Bayt al-mal to give funds. Each wife entitled to maintenance is entitled to the residence. Every wife who is entitled to maintenance is entitled to residence essential to meet the purposes of the marriage contract. Suppose the husband keeps the wife with his relatives, like his mother, sister, and others, in a manner that violates the woman’s privacy necessary for purposes of marriage, thus hindering physical access of the husband to the wife.
right to complain to the court:
In that case, the wife has a right to complain to the court, and the court will compel the husband to provide proper residence for her. If the wife is provided a private room in a house when other relatives are residents, but her privacy is not violated, the wife does not have a right to claim separate residence. Where a wife is provided independent residence with no one else residing with her, and she complains to the court that her husband beats her or physically torments her, the court is to make inquiries from the neighbors about the statement’s veracity. If the court thinks that the complaint is probably true, it is to order the husband to treat her decently, and if he persists, the court may discipline the husband with means considered appropriate.
Thus, wife-battering may become an offense. Suppose the husband has provided residence to the wife in a neighborhood with people of a bad reputation. In that case, the court, on a complaint, can compel the husband to move the wife to a better neighborhood. Wife maintenance in Pakistan can be claimed in the family court.