In Pakistan, divorces are considered wrong socially, but now, times are changing in the country and women are asking for divorces more than the men are doing, as they are getting empowered in the society and are not taking their disrespect after getting married lying down. Major reasons behind filing for divorces are the husband’s misbehaviour and deteriorating mental health.
In a survey carried out by Gallup and Gilani in 2019, the people of Pakistan accepted that during the last one decade, the cases of divorce augmented 58%. 2 out of every 5 participants believed that in most of the divorce cases, their in-laws were to be held responsible. However, there is no legally recognized constitutional agency in Pakistan to monitor divorces in the country.
All the divorce-related matters are dealt with as per the Islamic law of Sharia. It is to be noted that women in Pakistan cannot file for a divorce, but as per Sharia, can end the marriage without the consent of their husbands, and this is called ‘khula’, and is arbitrated by the family court. More family courts are now being established in the country, which extensively focus on cases of khula, family law and other related matters. The number of family law judges is also being augmented in Pakistan.
