Despite existing laws and efforts to promote gender equality, Pakistani women continue to face challenges in knowing, let alone understanding their inheritance share. Data from the Demographic and Health Survey 2017-18 reveals that 97% of women are pressured or manipulated into abandoning their rightful share of inherited property, and only 3% of women have successfully inherited property they were entitled to.
The study also highlighted the use of discriminatory practices like dowry, Quran marriage, levirate, and cousin marriages to deprive women of their inheritance. On the other hand, a survey conducted by the Provincial Ombudsperson for Protection of Inheritance Rights of Women reported that women are unaware of their legal rights or find the process of claiming inheritance complex and expensive. According to the survey, 71% of women perceive inheritance-related legal procedures as daunting, while 10% remain unaware of them entirely.
The Family Laws Ordinance 1961, while granting women the right to inherit both immovable and movable property, falls short in ensuring its effective implementation. In peri-urban areas, many women need to be made aware of their specific inheritance share and lack knowledge of how to calculate it. This problem stems from limited access to legal education and support, coupled with deeply ingrained societal norms that perpetuate gender inequality. As a result, women are unable to proactively advocate for themselves in inheritance disputes, leaving them vulnerable to discriminatory practices that deprive them of their rightful inheritance- a social injustice that has been practiced for decades.
“In Pakistan, traditional and cultural norms often leave women on the sidelines. Daughters, sisters, wives, and mothers are overlooked when it comes to family inheritance,” explained interim CEO Mobilink Bank, Haaris Mahmood Chaudhary. “In response to these challenges, we wanted to design an innovative solution that would offer women an easy and user-friendly way to calculate their share. Launching the Inheritance Calculator on Dost App is a step forward in this direction. Users will need to add the required information to calculate the inheritance share. A detailed family tree would be provided to show how the inheritance will be divided among the heirs based on their family relationships with the deceased,” he said.
JazzCash and Mobilink Bank are focused on bringing more women into the fold of digital financial services (DFS) by boosting the gross additions of women to JazzCash’s monthly active users, expanding its reach and impact. The platform now supports over 15,000 women merchants nationwide—the largest network among all fintechs in the country. Together, Mobilink Bank and JazzCash are breaking down barriers and creating opportunities for women to take control of their finances. Under Mobilink Bank’s flagship Women Inspirational Network (WIN) program, they have trained over 20,000 women in essential business fundamentals and effective financial planning. This, and many such initiatives, have made the bank rank on top of the State Bank of Pakistan’s Banking on Equality Scorecard.
We understand that the struggle for women’s inheritance rights in Pakistan is far from over. However, the growing awareness of this issue through The Invisible Heirs campaign and the emergence of the Inheritance Calculator offer hope for a more equitable future. Only by empowering women with knowledge and support can we work towards a society where all individuals, regardless of gender, have equal access to their rightful inheritance share.
