I AM at a loss to digest the laws for khula in Pakistan. If justice delayed is justice denied, then how can the period of six months be justified for the decision of a khula (a woman’s request for divorce) case? Practically, it takes far more than half a year for the decision, let alone the decision about the dowry items.

I am 25 years old and got married recently but unfortunately came back to my parents after 22 days and filed a case for khula. It was only then that I realised the gravity of this matter of delay in khula. My question to all lawyers, judges and lawmakers is: why is a khula case allowed to be stretched for six months? Seeking khula is not a trivial decision.

Why don’t lawmakers focus on the misuse of the law by people? The defendant can waste three hearings which can cost the plaintiff dearly. Then the former can come out of nowhere on the fourth hearing but there is no penalty for them for the delay.

In most cases defendants keep wasting time to pressure the plaintiff. Pressure is exerted for nothing but jewellery items. Jewellery is the only leverage that a woman has got. A common man in a society like ours prefers to return the jewellery and get divorce peacefully, though in personal perspective the jewellery is the right of a woman according to the law and Islam.

What is the loss of the defendant in all this? They get their jewellery, tag an innocent girl as a divorcee and walk away freely. Nobody is there to question them. Are the ‘khula’ laws formulated to facilitate men?

Can the laws be reformulated? Is there no punishment for those who marry innocent girls even when they know that they are not fit for marriage? Is a fake medical certificate enough to prove their innocence? And yet another simple question: why do courts get a one-month holiday unlike other government servants?

A woman
Lahore

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2014