March 18, 2025
Staff Report
LAHORE
In a landmark decision striking a blow against gender discrimination, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has ruled that a woman’s marital status cannot disqualify her from inheriting her deceased father’s government job.
The ruling came after a two-member bench, on March 17, comprising Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Athar Minallah issued the verdict during the hearing of Zahida Parveen’s petition. Parveen had been dismissed from her position following her father’s death.
During proceedings, Justice Mansoor pointedly questioned gender-based discrimination in employment policies.
“If a son can succeed his father in a government job after marriage, why not a daughter?” he asked, emphasizing that a woman’s marital status should never compromise her financial independence.
When the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Advocate General cited a previous ruling by former Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa that discouraged preferential employment for government employees’ children, Justice Mansoor clarified that the 2024 Supreme Court decision could not be retroactively applied to Parveen’s case, which predated the ruling.
Justice Mansoor further challenged the KP legal representative about the rationale behind dismissing Parveen after initially appointing her. When the Advocate General claimed her marriage made her ineligible, Justice Mansoor countered by asking which law specifically stated that a daughter loses employment eligibility upon marriage.
Though the KP Advocate General referenced a notification under the KP Civil Service Act as grounds for termination, the court remained unconvinced. Justice Mansoor reiterated that marriage should never undermine a woman’s economic independence and equal rights.
The court ultimately accepted Parveen’s petition, declaring her eligible for the position and closing the case. Justice Mansoor also announced that a detailed ruling on women’s financial independence would be issued soon.
According to Rehmanullah, Parveen’s counsel, his client had applied for a primary school teacher position under preferential hiring provisions available to children of government employees who die or become incapacitated during service. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Civil Servants Rules of 1989 allow the government to appoint one child (son or daughter) of a deceased civil servant to posts in Basic Pay Scales 1-10, provided they meet minimum qualifications.
“Zahida Parveen was appointed as a primary school teacher in 2023 but was dismissed without any show cause three months later,” Rehmanullah explained. The department cited a notification claiming that a daughter hired based on her father’s death in service could no longer hold the preferential hiring job after marriage. Parveen successfully challenged this termination before the Supreme Court, which upheld her right to employment as granted to any child of a government employee who dies during service, Rehmanullah added.