A Historic Step Forward: The Court Has Finally Named What Women Have Always Known

For generations, women across Pakistan have risen before dawn and gone to sleep long after everyone else. They have cooked, cleaned, raised children, managed households, supported their husbands' careers, and held families together, all without a salary, a contract, or legal recognition. This labor has been invisible not because it doesn't exist, but because the law never chooses to see it.

That changed this month.

In a landmark judgment delivered in Amara Waqas v. Muhammad Waqas Rashid and Others (WP No. 365 of 2023), the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ruled that all assets acquired during a marriage constitute "matrimonial property" and must be equitably distributed between spouses. Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, authoring the verdict, declared clearly: courts must not privilege a "breadwinner" over a "homemaker" or "caregiver" when dividing marital assets.

This ruling did more than settle one woman's case. It named something Pakistan's legal system had long refused to acknowledge that unpaid domestic labor is economic contribution.

What the Court Said

The case was brought by Amara Waqas, a former officer of the Pakistan Air Force, who challenged court decisions denying her share of dowry and marital property after her marriage ended. Lower courts had dismissed her claims for lack of "tangible evidence" as if years of shared life left no proof worth considering.

The IHC rejected that reasoning entirely. It found that lower courts had failed to appreciate the realities of working women's lives, particularly those in government service who relocate frequently and may receive financial support in lieu of traditional dowry. The court examined a vehicle purchased during the marriage, registered in the husband's name, and classified it as matrimonial property, awarding the wife at least a 50% share.

"Domestic work and household management represent significant economic contributions that aid in the family's wealth generation."

The court situated this ruling within an international legal framework, referencing practices in Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, and citing Pakistan's obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). It also grounded the ruling in Islamic principles, affirming that religious teachings do not prohibit legal protections for women's property rights.

Why This Matters for Women in Punjab

For PWPA, this ruling resonates deeply with our work. Economic vulnerability is not separate from gender-based violence as it is one of its most reliable enablers. Women who are financially dependent, who leave a marriage with nothing despite years of contribution, face heightened risk: they are more likely to remain in abusive situations, less able to seek legal recourse, and more exposed to poverty and exploitation.

When the court says that a woman's caregiving, her household management, her emotional labor is also saying that she counts. It affirms her dignity, her agency, and her right to a fair share of the life she helped build.

This is not just a legal development. It is a protection mechanism.

What the Court Is Asking Pakistan to Do Next

The IHC did not stop at just the case before it. Justice Kayani issued a series of recommendations directed at the legislature and society at large:

• 1Reform the Nikahnama: Add a column specifying that property acquired by the husband during marriage should be equally divided upon dissolution.
• 2Enact dedicated legislation: Frame laws formally recognizing domestic labor as a legal contribution to marital property.
• 3Raise awareness among women: Empower women to use existing provisions in the marriage contract to safeguard their financial rights.

The judgment builds on earlier judicial directions from Justice Jawad Hassan of the Lahore High Court in Saima Shafi v. Additional District Judge (WP 526/2021), which had already called for reform of the matrimonial property regime. The IHC has now taken that call and given it teeth.

Our Commitment at PWPA

At the Punjab Women Protection Authority, we understand that protecting women from violence requires addressing the structures that make women vulnerable in the first place. Economic dependence: the product of years of unpaid, unrecognized labor, is one of the most powerful of those structures.

We welcome this ruling as a step in the right direction. We call on:

• Family courts to apply the spirit of this judgment: to see women's contributions fully, not just those that come with receipts.
• Communities to begin conversations within families and neighborhoods about what women's work is worth.
• Women themselves to know their rights in their Nikahnama, in their marriages, and now, in the courts.

The law has begun to see what women have always known. Now it must be made permanent.