April 21, 2025
By Ahmed Saeed
LAHORE
The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled that a woman is entitled to receive the full amount of deferred dower in cases of khula (dissolution of marriage initiated by the wife) if the separation is due to the husband’s cruelty, bad behavior, or misconduct. A single-member bench of Justice Raheel Kamran Sheikh noted that the deferred dower is a form of security and compensation for the wife, for her commitment during the marriage.
The court was hearing an appeal filed by the husband, Asif Mahmood, against the decision of an Additional District Judge, who had directed him to pay Rs 200,000 as deferred dower to his wife.
The court noted that nikahnama is a valid and binding contract between the parties. Deferred dower is a contractual obligation undertaken by the husband. Unless there were valid legal grounds to deviate from the terms of this contract, the husband is bound to fulfill his obligation.
“The mere fact that the wife has sought khula does not automatically nullify this contractual obligation. In order to determine the entitlement of a wife seeking khula to the claim qua deferred dower, key consideration is the reason for her seeking the khula,” the order read.
In this case, the wife sought khula from her husband after nine years of marriage, citing his violent and abusive behavior. She accused him of domestic violence during cross-examination in the khula proceedings.
“This unchallenged rather reaffirmed allegation of bad conduct and disrespectful behavior, that amounts to cruelty, provides a strong justification for the respondent/wife to be entitled to the full amount of her deferred dower in the same way as she would have been in case of divorce pronounced by the petitioner,” the Lahore High Court order said.
The court further noted that Islamic law recognizes khula as a method for the dissolution of marriage, analogous to talaq, but they differ significantly in their initiation, procedures, and consequences. Talaq is primarily the right of the husband to unilaterally dissolve the marriage. In case of talaq, the husband is precluded from claiming the dower, gifts, or other benefits which he had already given to the wife.
Judgement welcomed
Lawyers and women’s rights activists have hailed the judgment, saying it will empower women to leave abusive marriages while also safeguarding their financial rights.
Nida Aly, Executive Director of the Asma Jahangir Legal Aid Cell, noted that the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) had previously held that women were not entitled to receive any amount from the dower in cases of khula.
“However, after this judgment, women seeking khula no longer have to forgo their dower or other monetary benefits. This will surely encourage more women to take the step to leave abusive marriages,” she said. She added that since Pakistan follows the common law system, this judgment is likely to be followed by other judges, setting a precedent that strengthens women’s rights in future litigation
Abid Saqi, senior lawyer and former Vice Chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council, termed the judgment a positive step in the right direction. He added that several judges have recently delivered progressive rulings on women’s issues, particularly related to matrimonial and divorce rights.
When asked about the growing number of pro-women judgments from the superior courts, Saqi said that the appointment of young, progressive, and forward-looking judges to the bench has shifted the judiciary’s approach in cases concerning vulnerable segments of society—especially women.
Nida Usman Chaudhry Executive director of Women in Law said that the judgement interestingly drew analogy with the cases where the FSC decisions where a wife would be entitled to dower she had received if she sought Khula on basis of fault of the husband.
“In one of the cases, (Haji Saif-ur-Rahman Shaheen v. Islamic Republic of Pakistan) FSC had stated that, “if a wife claims that she is forced to seek a decree of khula because of her husband’s ill-treatment or mistreatment, etc., the Court may reduce the amount of compensation, if it finds the husband at fault after recording of evidence, so much so that in severe cases, the Court may grant divorce in case of khula to a wife without paying back any amount of mahar at all,” she said whlie speaking to Voicepk. “Therefore, the return or surrender of dower by the wife is not an automatic consequence in each and every case of khula.
She said under the same reasoning, the court had asserted that women seeking an end to their abusive marriages may claim deferred dower where khula is sought due to fault or ill treatment by the husband. This means they do not lose their entitlement to dower as was the case previously in cases where they are ending the marriage because of the fault and ill treatment of the husband.
The LHC asserted that, ‘the deferred dower is also seen as a form of security and compensation for the wife for her commitment during the marriage. After such a long period of marriage, it would be inequitable to deny full amount of the deferred dower to wife, especially when the dissolution was sought due to cruelty and bad behavior and conduct on the part of the husband.” In any case, dower is considered as the highest form of debt a husband owes to his wife/former wife and which takes priority over all other creditors upon his death, added Chaudhry.
Chaudhry also said that many women were forced to seek khula from abusive marriages so that they would lose their entitlement to dower and other benefits from marriage despite the marriage becoming abusive due to the husband’s behavior. This judgement attempts to address this anomaly and make it more difficult for such men to hide behind technicalities so they do not benefit from their own wrongdoing by making the ending of the marriage as lopsided and abusive as the marriage itself and getting out of their obligations under the marriage by forcing the wife to file for khula.
“I believe it is a step in the right direction as it balances the rights of husband and wife in such situations so that if khula is sought due to the wife’s own personal desires and motivations, she remains responsible to return the dower. However, if she is forced to end the marriage by her husband (through khula), only so that he can evade his obligations in the nikahnama, then upholding the sanctity of nikahnama has now been prioritised by the LHC, striking the much needed balance between the rights of the parties in such cases,” she said.
Most pro women judgements come from the higher judiciary
Nida Usman Chaudhry says that in the recent past, some pro women judgements have come from the higher judiciary, including from the Federal Shariat Court which are being seen as almost ‘favours’ to women, but they are not.
“Upholding fundamental rights is the basic duty of the judiciary, and when they set out to do that in cases, I don’t think it is fair to say that they have a ‘pro women agenda’,” she says. “It should not make us jump on our seats. In 2025 the question should be why is it taking so long, for well informed, well researched, holistic judgements, rooted in principles and fundamental rights, to come with this frequency?” she asks, citing the reasons being better trained lawyers arguing the cases with more depth and references, and a more sensitized and informed judiciary that is being assisted in a much more comprehensive manner.”