Kiran had no inkling that her life was about to take a nightmarish turn when she began responding to messages from an unidentified person on WhatsApp. Initially, she saw it as a harmless pastime, filling her free hours each day. In her mid-20s, Kiran worked as a beautician at a local beauty parlour and was the third of five sisters, anticipating marriage several years down the line.

However, her casual conversations with Naveed Iqbal, her WhatsApp acquaintance, would completely alter her circumstances, impacting not only her life but her entire family. After six months of meeting this man, who was in his early 30s, at various fast-food joints and parks, the two decided to tie the knot “as soon as possible.” Naveed Iqbal, as he presented himself to her, worked as a sales supervisor for a tobacco company and earned a “handsome salary.” He resided with his mother in a rented house in the same neighborhood, with no other family members.

Kiran confided in her elder sister, the sole married sibling, about her relationship with this man and their shared decision to marry. Her sister was initially taken aback and tried to persuade her to leave such critical decisions to their parents at the right time. However, recognizing her unwavering determination, she eventually disclosed the matter to their mother, causing a heated atmosphere in the family with days of heated debates and intense exchanges.

Her father, a seasoned and rational individual, realized that it would be challenging to convince his independent-minded daughter to postpone her marriage. He called a family meeting and candidly expressed his doubts regarding Naveed Iqbal’s background. He believed that the man was not forthcoming about his family or job and warned Kiran of potential problems in her married life. He expressed his opposition to the union, cautioning her that she should not blame them when the consequences of her decision became evident.

However, Kiran, deeply in love with the man of her dreams, remained resolute and was prepared to confront any challenges that came her way. Within a few weeks, she married Naveed Iqbal, even though her parents couldn’t provide a substantial dowry.

That marked the beginning of a relentless nightmare in her life. On the very first night of her marriage, her husband callously informed her that he couldn’t imagine life without drinking and multiple relationships with women. In the ensuing weeks, she was confronted with further harsh realities: her husband had no steady employment, and he had divorced two previous wives because they were unwilling to provide him with financial support from their parents or jobs. Kiran experienced her first instance of abuse at the hands of her “loving” husband in only the second month of their marriage when she refused to hand over her monthly earnings from her job, insisting that he should also contribute.

Nevertheless, Kiran was a woman of immense strength and resilience. She didn’t retreat to her parents, crying for help. Instead, she made the courageous choice to confront her nightmare on her own. She contemplated going to the police, well aware that domestic violence was a crime, but the fear of making her life even more challenging dissuaded her. Naveed Iqbal had also issued a chilling threat, warning her that he would disfigure her with acid if she ever contemplated leaving him.

Residing in the Shahdara area of Lahore, Kiran became the mother of three children over the past six years. After giving birth to her first child, the owner of the beauty parlour where she had worked dismissed her from the job. She resorted to sewing clothes for women in the neighborhood to earn some income. Additionally, she began teaching students in her modest two-room rented house and took on various odd jobs. Unfortunately, her husband would seize a significant portion of her meager earnings to cater to his own vices, including drug use, alcohol consumption, and purchasing clothing for himself.

Agha Intizar Ali Imran, a Supreme Court Advocate in Pakistan, does not endorse the approach that Kiran took to address her domestic situation. He asserts that by law, a man is obligated to provide the basic necessities of life, such as food, clothing, and shelter, to his wife and children. “If he fails to do so,” he explains, “they have the legal recourse to approach a family court, which, after due process, will determine the maintenance allowances. If, even then, he does not comply, the legal remedy involves executing the court’s decree through property attachment or auction, along with arrest warrants.”

The chairman of Agha Law Excellence advises women like Kiran that they have the option to file a suit for maintenance allowances for themselves and their children against their husband or father before a family court, as per Section 7 of the Family Courts Act, 1964. Notifications to the husband or father are sent through the court under Section 8 of the same Act. The respondent is expected to file a written statement in court under Section 9, and under Section 10, pre-trial proceedings, such as reconciliation efforts between the parties, are initiated by the court.

Agha Imran, with over 20 years of legal practice, explains that in case reconciliation fails, the court will proceed to hear evidence from both parties in turn, as stipulated in Section 11. After considering the evidence, a court decree is issued, determining the amount of maintenance allowances based on the man’s capacity and the plaintiffs’ needs, as outlined in Section 12 of the Act.

The Supreme Court lawyer emphasizes that if the decree is not satisfied by the judgment debtor, the court, upon the plaintiffs’ application, will enforce it by attaching the debtor’s property and issuing arrest warrants, in accordance with Section 13. Furthermore, family courts possess the powers of magistrates under Section 20 of the Family Courts Act, 1964. The lawyer contends that women’s leniency towards husbands who offer nothing but abuse encourages such inhumane treatment. He suggests that women like Kiran should seek legal redress so that husbands like Naveed Iqbal, who contribute nothing to support their families, can be held accountable and deterred from ruining women’s lives through marriage.

(The writer is a physician by profession. She has worked as an intern at the Capital Health (New Jersey) & the Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Hospital (New York). Rights and gender issues are the areas of special interest to her. She can be reached at: [email protected])