While women rarely receive their fair share in inheritance in the country, those who do, often get it after an agonizing legal battle that usually stretches over several years.
In one such incident, a woman named Zaitoon Bibi, who hails from Dera Ismail Khan (DI Khan), finally received her share of the inheritance after 46 years of litigation.
According to details, the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) quashed the appeal of her brothers against the earlier decision of the Peshawar High Court (PHC).
The brothers had appropriated their sister’s share of the inherited property in 1976. She moved to the Civil Court against her brother in 2005 and the Session Court in 2012. She went to PHC in 2017 and got the decision in her favor.
Her brothers challenged the PHC decision in the apex court in 2018. During the final hearing, the plaintiff’s lawyer argued that the woman gifted her share of the inherited property to the brothers.
Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan questioned how can a minor girl gift her property to anyone. Since the woman was minor when she allegedly gifted the property, the deal is not transparent, Justice Ijaz observed, quashing the appeal of the brothers and granting due share in the inherited property to the woman.