PAKISTAN’S family courts were estab-lished to protect children and ensure justice within domestic disputes. Yet, for countless women, especially mothers raising children alone, the system often becomes another source of financial exhaustion, procedural harassment, and emotional distress.
Across family courts in Pakistan, one pattern repeatedly emerges: women who are turned out of their marital homes are then required to prove that they were ousted. The denial of the allegation itself is often enough to prolong litigation for years. Equally troubling is the increasing misuse of custody litigation.
In many cases, fathers file guardianship or custody proceedings, and then relocate abroad, fail to attend hearings personally, or continue litigation through relatives and powers of attorney, while mothers remain in Pakistan, shouldering the full responsibility of raising children.
If a parent genuinely seeks custody or claims concern for the child’s welfare, should that parent not be expected to actively pursue the case and fulfil parental obligations personally before leaving the country? Custody proceedings should not become symbolic legal tools used from abroad, while the practical responsibilities of parenting are left entirely upon the other parent.
The present structure creates a deeply unequal reality. Men often possess greater mobility and financial freedom to leave the country, rebuild their lives elsewhere, or avoid direct participation in proceedings. Women, particularly mothers with young children, remain behind because they are the child’s primary caregiver, and cannot abandon their children to uncertainty.
Instead of recognising this imbalance, the system often imposes even greater burden upon the caregiving parent. Women are expected to attend repeated hearings, comply with visitation schedules, arrange transportation, manage the child’s routine, and remain constantly available for legal proceedings — all while trying to earn a livelihood to support the same child, or children, whose maintenance is being contested.
As for the issue of maintenance, it reveals another serious institutional failure. Pakistan has witnessed severe inflation in recent years. Maintenance awards in many cases remain disconnected from economic reality. Mothers spend years litigating for increases that are often too small to meet even basic living expenses. Even more concerning is the recurring concealment of income. Courts are frequently confronted with claims that fathers understate their actual financial capacity. But meaningful penalties for false financial disclosure remain rare.
As such, the contradiction becomes even sharper when the same parent who resists paying realistic maintenance simul-taneously demands visitation rights, while the mother’s ability to work and survive is often disrupted by endless procedural requirements.
A difficult but necessary question must be asked: if courts can continuously adjust the valuation of gold and financial assets according to market realities, why is child maintenance not automatically linked to inflation and the actual cost of raising a child? The welfare of a child cannot be protected through symbolic maintenance amounts or endless procedural formalities.
Also, justice cannot be achieved when the parent physically raising the child is economically exhausted owing to pro-longed litigation. Pakistan needs reforms in family law and guardianship proceedings.
Dr Aqsa Zulfiqar
Gujrat
Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2026