Unhappy Christian Couples Demand Right to Divorce
Farehia Rehman
Islamabad: For many Christian couples in Pakistan, ending a troubled marriage can be particularly difficult because existing laws provide limited and, in some cases, inadequate legal avenues for divorce. The lack of clear and accessible provisions can leave spouses struggling to find a lawful way out of unhappy marriages.
The Constitution of Pakistan guarantees equal treatment for all citizens but it seems the matter of attaining a separation is yet to be addressed for Christian couples.
Currently, the matters of divorce are governed in the Christian faith under the Divorce Act 1869 and the only way out of an unhappy marriage under this law is an accusation of adultery to be proven later in the court of law.
The law provides limited grounds for separation. Thus, there is no other way for dissolution of Christian marriage except through civil courts under the Divorce Act, 1869.
Sumaira is one such example who has lived a married life of almost 15 years. However, she and her husband do not share cordial terms and have begun to dislike each other to such an extent that they are living independently.
She is uneducated and does not have sufficient knowledge about getting separation through legal channels. Talking to PenPK.com, she said that she did not think of remarrying and; therefore, she didn’t feel a need for separation.
She resides in a single room rented accommodation in Shapur, a suburban area of the federal capital, and works as a maid to meet her daily expenditures and that of her two children.
She said, “I am taking care of two little children while my elder daughter is with my husband at a nearby school building, where he is associated as a guard.” She maintained, “My 14-year-old elder daughter helps her father in daily household chores and often visits her place.” They are not living together as a couple. The marital relationship between them is not normal and the reason is dispute over domestic issues.
They do not have a choice under the Divorce Act 1869 to get separation from each other. Being uneducated and having limited economic resources, their chances of getting legal assistance further diminishes given the exorbitant charges of lawyers.
Another working lady, Rubaika, is somehow in a comparatively better condition, talking to The PenPK.com, she said, “For us, marriage is not a permanent relation, couples can dissolve their marriage after legal separation, but cases are very few in number.”
“In Church,” she continued, “Just our marriage ceremonies are conducted;it does not allow us to seek a separation, and the Christian Family Laws in Pakistan make it impossible as well.”
Christian community makes up one of the two largest religious minorities in Pakistan, along with Hindus. The total number of Christians in Pakistan was estimated at 2.5 million in 2005, or 1.6 percent of the population. The majority of Christian minority lives in the Punjab province, settled in slums and rural Punjab.
Even in twin cities, they are in deplorable conditions. Most of them work as domestic servants and sweepers. They face so many difficulties in their daily lives because of financial constraints. They are mostly uneducated and not aware of their rights. Their children also work with them for making both ends meet.
The law is deeply affecting the lives of Christian population in the country and it is high time that they are updated. In this backdrop, when approached Advocate High Court Sardar Naeem Ur Rehman said, “It is more difficult for Christian couples to get separation than Muslim couples, as in accordance with section 10 of the Christian Divorce Act, they can apply for dissolution of marriage only by leveling allegations of adultery and upon failure to prove the allegation of adultery, they cannot get decree for dissolution of marriage.”
He explained that the legal framework can make divorce proceedings particularly difficult, as spouses may be required to establish adultery even when it was not the actual cause for seeking dissolution of the marriage. He added that proving such grounds can be challenging, while judicial proceedings may take several months before a divorce decree is granted.
On the other hand, he added that Muslim families have options of pronouncement of divorce by the husband, obtaining ‘khula’ by wife from the family court or by obtaining judicial separation/dissolution of marriage on the grounds of cruelty, nonpayment of maintenance, or if husband is not found for some years etc.
He praised the landmark judgment of Lahore High Court (PLD 2022 Lahore 214) in which through a constitutional writ, a lady challenged the judgment and decree of lower courts whereby her application for judicial separation on the basis of cruelty was dismissed by the lower fora and LHC, through this judgment, allowed the writ petition.
He said the High Court overturned the judgments and decrees of the two lower courts after finding that the petitioner/plaintiff was entitled to seek judicial separation on the grounds of cruelty under Section 22 of the Divorce Act, 1869. As a result, the court granted her judicial separation from the respondent.
It may be mentioned here that Section 7 of this Act, which allowed divorce on the grounds of irretrievable breakdown of marriage was repealed through Federal Laws (Revision and Declaration) Ordinance, 1981 (XXVII of 1981) by General Zia ul Haq when he came to power. After the repeal of Section 7, divorce, under the aforesaid Act, could only be given under Section 10 in which divorce could be taken on the grounds of accusation of adultery later to be proven in court of law.
Divorce is a right of every person who is not happy with marital relation because of domestic violence, abandonment by spouse or other such reasons.
Aimed at expanding grounds other than adultery, in past social activists have been spearheading a campaign for the amendments in law. In the year 2019, a draft bill titled Christian Marriage and Divorce Act 2019 was proposed to make changes in the Divorce Act 1869 and Christian Marriage Act 1872 for providing other grounds for divorce to Christians.
However, no development has been witnessed in this framework so far and the Bill still needs to be approved by the Parliament.
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