'86% registrars believe brides lack skills to negotiate nikahnama terms'

• Bride’s CNIC details missing in 58% of nikahnamas (marriage deeds).
• 58% nikah registrars believe Haq Mehr not mandatory requirement.
• Only 8% included the right to a monthly allowance in Pakpattan.

ISLAMABAD: A study on women's marriage rights revealed that 86% of nikah registrars (NRs) in Lahore believe the bride is not competent enough to negotiate the terms of her nikahnama (marriage deed). 

Meanwhile, 85% believe that delegating the right to divorce to women in the nikahnama will increase the divorce rate and 92% believe the wife's right to maintenance is subject to obedience to her husband.

The data was shared on Tuesday at the launch of “Diagnostic Study of Nikkahnamas in Punjab: A Review of Women’s Marriage Rights (Diagnostic Study).” 

The study was developed by the Centre for Human Rights (CFHR) in collaboration with Musawi and the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR). 

The study assessed the status of women’s marriage rights to better understand gaps in the existing legislative and institutional framework that hinder women’s access to and implementation of marriage rights in Punjab. 

The study reviewed 1,100 nikahnamas and interviewed 105 NRs in 14 union councils of two pilot districts in Punjab including Lahore and Pakpattan (2020-2021) besides analysing the related legislative and implementation frameworks.

Key issues identified by the study include gaps in the enforcement and implementation of existing laws such as the Punjab Muslim Family Laws Amendment 2015, which prohibits crossing out of columns of the nikahnama or leaving them blank. Moreover, perceptions, beliefs, understanding, and capacity of NRs on marriage rights and laws; limited oversight and accountability of NRs; inadequate understanding of the validity of marriage and inconsistencies in nikahnama form, format, and clauses all impact access to key marriage rights, especially of women.

6% believe child marriage legal

In Pakpattan, the study shows that the bride’s CNIC details were missing in 58% of the nikahnamas and 23% did not record the age of the bride. Only 8% included the right to a monthly allowance and 2% gave the wife the right to divorce.

A survey with nikkah registrars in Pakpattan revealed that 60% consider consent given under duress as valid for the purposes of marriage. Interestingly, 58% nikah registrars believe that Haq Mehr — which is an obligatory payment made by the husband to his wife at the time of marriage — is not a mandatory requirement for a valid nikah. 

Meanwhile, 6% believed that child marriage is legally valid if the guardian gives permission and 40% believe that Haq Mehr is not the sole property of the wife.

In addition, 78% believed women's right to work is subject to the husband’s permission and 61% believed khula (women's right to divorce) is not an independent right of women to seek divorce.

In Lahore, the bride’s CNIC details were found missing in 15% of the nikahnamas, 26 had no column for CNIC details, nine did not record the age of the bride and 31 were different from the standard nikahnama form. Only 9.7% of nikahnamas included the right to a monthly allowance and only 3% gave the wife the right to divorce.

The survey with registrars shows that 67% of them believed women's right to work is subject to the husband’s permission, 26% perceived consent of guardian as more important than the bride's free will, 83% considered Haq Mehr to not be mandatory for a valid marriage, 55% believe that Haq Mehr is not the sole property of the wife, and 64% NRs believe Khula is not an independent right of women to seek divorce.

'Study to contribute to improving awareness'

Speaking on this occasion, NCHR Chairperson Rabiya Javeri Agha said the study will contribute to improving the knowledge and awareness of nikahnama clauses and women’s marriage rights across the country.

“Columns that are usually crossed at the time of Nikkah are actually meant to safeguard and protect women’s rights in a marriage. The study findings highlight the importance of effective implementation of the law that binds NRs to fill these columns," she added. 

Tahera Hasan, a senior lawyer specialising in family law, said that the preservation of women's marriage rights is hindered not by a dearth of legislation but by the cultural and social impediments that curtail the realisation of these rights.

Musawi Fatima Yasmin Bokhari CEO said that, “The nikahnama is the starting point in a conversation on women’s marriage rights. If properly understood and filled, it enables essential safeguards for women. Our review of Nikkahnamas revealed the majority of columns of the nikahnama that were crossed out related to the rights of women, such as monthly maintenance and the delegated right to divorce.”

The author of the study, Sevim Saadat, said that “key missing information in the Nikkahnama has implications for implementation of the law, for example, where the age of the bride or the CNIC is not written in the Nikkahnama, there is a serious concern that the marriage could have been a child marriage.” 

Lahore High Court's (LHC) Justice Jawad Hassan said that the nikahnama is a "contract containing the rights of the parties; the courts of Pakistan have made this abundantly clear.”

“This study is quite important because it analyzes a document, the Nikkahnama, which is usually taken for granted yet it determines the fate of individuals, families, and generations,” said MNA Mehnaz Akbar Aziz.

Provincial Minister of Women Development, Sindh Shehla Raza, said: “The nikahnama can prevent the illegal practice of child marriage. The child marriage law should be implemented in letter and spirit.”