KARACHI, July 28: The Family Courts are dealing with “hundreds of cases” of maintenance. The lawyers succeed in winning the decree of maintenance for their women petitioners, but face several problems in the second phase of the case — its execution — according to high court advocate Zeb Jawed.

This causes real problems to the claimants of maintenance - wives who are separated from their husbands as well as divorced women — but for three months only, during the Iddat period.

The difficulties in implementing the decree arise because the husband tries to conceal his real salary, tries to dispose of and transfer his property and may even try and leave the city.

“Sometimes the husbands file a counter case, and claim that the wife should first restore his conjugal rights,” says Sultana Parveen, a high court advocate.

When the husband refuses to pay maintenance, even though the court has so ordered, he can face imprisonment. This is a factor which goes in favour of the woman petitioner. Sultana Parveen relates a case that she handled. “M’s husband began beating her soon after her marriage in 1998, and said he wanted to remarry. He sent her to her mother’s home. All efforts for a compromise failed, even though the girl wanted this. I then filed a case for the recovery of dower which was one lakh, and for maintenance, which amounted to Rs 1,200 per month.”

“In 1999, the court decreed the suit. However, the husband stopped attending the court and refused to comply with the court order. After this, I filed a suit of execution for the recovery of household items, which did not amount to much, or asked the court to issue a warrant of arrest. When he received this warrant, he came to the court at the next hearing and said that he wanted a settlement with his wife.”

When the wife has children, they are also entitled to maintenance. The amount is decided by the court which considers their age, and whether they are schoolgoing or not.

However, when the wife files for maintenance for the children, the husband may file a counter claim for the custody of the children. “I am recently dealing with such a case. The daughter in question is a 13-year-old. On the day of the hearing, she will be asked by the judge with which parent would she like to stay — as a 13-year-old she is considered old enough to decide. Her decision will then be binding.”

Senior high court advocate, Wallail Gauhar, points out to the long delays in the execution of the decree which increases the suffering of the women petitioners. “It takes at least two to three years for the case to be decided; though the court has received direction from the Chief Justice to decide family cases within six months.”

The delays occur because of the long court procedure and the husband’s delaying tactics. What would help in early disposal of the case is if the court gave directions to the husband not to sell or transfer the property.”

She also feels that the lengthy court procedure should be curtailed. For instance, the procedure calling upon the wife and the husband to bring forth witnesses should be disposed of, as it is not essential.

The reason why so many cases of maintenance are now coming to the family court is that there is less tolerance among both the husband and wife, who eventually seek a separation. “There is also increasing awareness among women of their rights,” she said.

Most women seeking maintenance belong to the low income group and need legal aid. “We have very few NGOs giving such aid. We need several more,” she said. Many lawyers do help such women individually by either rendering such services free or for a nominal amount.

One rule she follows in such cases is to first try to bring about a compromise between the two parties. Only when this fails does she take the matter to court. “Most common reasons for the couple’s separation are the failure of the husband to provide maintenance to his wife, and wife beating.”

“One recommendation that I feel that this government must consider urgently is the provision of maintenance to the wife while the matter is in court. This has happened in one or two cases, but as yet, there is no law to this effect.”

“The Commission of Inquiry for Women in 1997 had put forward several recommendations related to maintenance to the then government. Now the PAWLA has taken up the matter with the present government.”