Supreme Court denounces use of ‘infertility claims’ to target women

Fri, August 15, 2025

The Supreme Court denounced the distressing and sorrowful social practice of ‘weaponising’ infertility, or even the mere suspicion of it, against women.

“This social prejudice routinely results in courts of law becoming venues for humiliating a woman under the guise of litigation,” regretted Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi.

The CJP, who was part of a two-judge bench alongside Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, was remarking on a case filed by one Saleh Muhammad against a March 3, 2025, judgement of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), regarding a dispute over dower claims, dowry articles and maintenance of the respondent, Mehnaz Begum.

“This court cannot but record in the strongest possible terms its disapproval of the manner in which the respondent — a woman already abandoned, denied maintenance and left to the mercy of litigation — was subjected to repeated, invasive and demeaning scrutiny of her very personhood at the behest of a frivolous and cruel defence,” Justice Afridi bemoaned.

In the seven-page order, the CJP emphasised that it must be acknowledged without equivocation that infertility, even if present, was no ground to deny a woman her dower or maintenance and it was certainly no ground to challenge her womanhood.

“To convert such personal pain into a legal weapon is not only an abuse of the process, but an affront to human dignity that should not be enabled,” he said.

“It also bears emphasis that our religion and culture treat the marital bond as a sacred covenant. The Holy Quran has described the spouse as a garment; the relationship between a husband and wife is likened to that of libaas in our religion,” the CJP said, stressing that the ideals of protection, mutual respect and dignity in marriage must not be compromised in any event.

“Lest we forget: women in our society constitute a vulnerable group, whose dignity requires vigilant protection and care,” he observed.

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