Reforms in Muslim Family Laws with special Reference to Pakistan

Abstract

In the Muslim world, Family law reforms have been ongoing since last century. The main focus of these reforms has been on Muslim women's rights in terms of marriage and divorce. Family law has remained an important topic of Shariah, which is the part of Islamic law that has remained in force to regulate the lives of nearly 500 million Muslims around the globe. The review of the research revealed the general impression that relates to the significant social and economic changes occurring in the majority of Muslim countries. These changes have demanded legislation to protect Muslim womens’ rights, particularly in the areas of marriage and divorce. The research will investigate the reforms in three Muslim countries namely; Egypt, Algeria and Pakistan and would provide concrete steps that would help bring practical changes in ensuring safeguard of women in their family life spheres. Muslim womens’ rights, which were formerly curtailed, are now secured thanks to the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, which was passed in Pakistan in 1961. Family Law Courts appear to be urgently needed in order to ensure the full benefits of reform. Since the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the tedious system governing divorce suits under the Anglo-Muhammadan Law has remained intact. However, the promulgation of Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, which was enacted in response to the Law Reforms Commission's recommendations, is a step in the right direction and offers a lot of optimism for the future in terms of streamlining the legal process. A legislation of Muslim Personal Law in Pakistan, taking into account the change, would be a valuable undertaking. Such legislation could address the shortcomings of Anglo-Muhammadan Law as well as some of the redundancies of the cumbersome legal process. It is almost mandatory to conduct extensive research and study on the subject in order to estimate the extent of the difficulties before designing solutions. A long-felt need has been met in Pakistan’s Muslim Family Laws Ordinance.

However, more effort is needed to generate greater and longer-term effects from this reform. Algeria's Code Morand and Egypt's Code of Personal Law could serve as useful prototypes in this regard. Although, a lot of reforms are brought about and still some are pending in the Assemblies to be adopted, proper implementation is the first and basic step to ensure the right way forward especially for women. Strict government supervision is a must in such regard that can act as a watchdog.

Keywords: Muslim Family Laws, Legislation in Pakistan, Reforms in Muslim Personal Laws, Marriage and Divorce, Contemporary Muslim World