Ameer Bakhsh v. Additional Sessions Judge: On Marriage without Iddah
Image Description – A woman (face unseen) in a sparkling salwar kameez, bangles and with henna decorated hands signs the Nikah, the Muslim marriage contract. On 24 December 2021, Justice...
Pakistan’s Inspirational Transgender Persons’ Law- Some Years Later
The Parliament of Pakistan had passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act in May 2018 and it might be worth revisiting and appraising this Act. This is because it...
Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan declares the custom of Swara as un-Islamic and unconstitutional
On 25 October 2021, a three-judge bench of the Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan (FSC) headed by the FSC Chief Justice delivered the landmark judgement in Sakeena Bibi V. Secretary...
Nadia Naz v President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan: Supreme Court of Pakistan Restricts the Scope of ‘Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2010’
On 5 July 2021, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) delivered the judgement in Nadia Naz v. President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan and interpreted the...
Supreme Court of Pakistan declares “two-finger test” unconstitutional
On 4 January 2021, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan pronounced a significant judgment in Atif Zareef v The State. The Court declared that the “two-finger” or...
Supreme Court of Pakistan prohibits execution of condemned prisoners with mental illnesses: A promising start towards reforming Pakistan’s death penalty problem?
On 10 February, 2021, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) delivered its landmark judgement in Safia Bano v. Home Department (along with 2 consolidated cases). This...
Sadaf Aziz v. Federation of Pakistan: The end of virginity testing in Pakistan?
Across Pakistan, the two finger test (TFT), also known as the virginity and hymen test is conducted on female survivors and victims of rape and sexual abuse. It is a...
Pakistan and disability law – The dawn of a more inclusive society?
Until the summer of this year, Pakistan did not have any adequate state legislation or any other mechanism in place that enforced the rights of persons with disabilities (“PWDs”). It...
Pakistan: Discriminatory rules preclude Afghan refugee children from attaining secondary education
In 2012, the Board of Secondary Education in Karachi (BSEK), made it mandatory for ninth grade students to possess a Child Registration Certificate. The certificate serves as an identity for...
Supreme Court of Pakistan grants federal government the power to arbitrarily restrict mobile services
The federal government of Pakistan often issues directions to suspend cellular mobile services, ostensibly for reasons of national security. Mobile services (2G/3G/4G/LTE) are usually ordered to be suspended on specified...
A drought-stricken and marginalised Tharparkar: The right to water and COVID-19 in Pakistan
The people of Tharparkar (Thar), Pakistan, called ‘Tharis’, have been facing water scarcity for years. In the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, the provision of quality water is essential. While...
Gender Based Violence Courts in Pakistan: A Gap in Gender Equality Remains, but a Promising Start
Available data indicated that in Pakistan, only 2-3% of rape perpetrators were convicted. In light of this, the then Chief Justice of the Lahore (Punjab) High Court invited the Asian...
