Your father dies. The brothers sit together and divide the land among themselves. Your mother is told to sign a paper. You are told your share was covered by your wedding expenses. This happens in Pakistan more often than people admit.
Here is what the law actually says.
Do women have a right to inheritance in Pakistan?
Yes. The right is fixed, and no one can take it away.
The Quran gives it in clear words. Surah An-Nisa verse 7 says women have a share of what parents and close relatives leave, just as men do. Verses 4:11 and 4:12 set out the exact shares.
The Constitution protects it as well. Article 23 of the Constitution of Pakistan says every citizen has the right to acquire, hold and dispose of property.
Two laws make sure custom cannot override this. The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act 1937 says that for Muslims, in matters of succession, the rule of decision is Muslim personal law, not custom. One gap remained: agricultural land. Custom kept ruling the land until the West Pakistan Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act 1962 closed that gap. Since then, inheritance of land in Pakistan follows Shariat too. Section 3 of the 1962 Act even ended the old customary limited estate, under which a woman could hold land only for her lifetime.
For non-Muslims, inheritance is governed by the Succession Act 1925.
How much does a woman get?
The shares are set. No one decides them.
- Daughter: when there is also a son, the daughter gets half of what the son gets. When there are two or more daughters and no son, they get two thirds together. A single daughter with no son gets half.
- Wife: one eighth of the husband's property when they have children. One fourth when they have no children.
- Mother: one sixth of the property when there are children. One third when there are no children.
These shares come from Surah An-Nisa verses 11 and 12. They apply the moment a person dies. The share passes to the heirs automatically, as the Supreme Court repeated in July 2026.
What did the Supreme Court say in July 2026?
A two member bench, Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan and Justice Shakeel Ahmed, allowed an appeal filed by Noor Muhammad. The dispute was 71 years old.
The father died in 1955. Two brothers had the property transferred into their own names, saying the mother and sisters gave them their shares by word of mouth. The trial court, the appellate court and the High Court accepted the oral gift. The Supreme Court did not.
The Court held that inheritance is not a favour given by male relatives. It is a legal and Shariah based right that passes to the heirs automatically on death. An oral gift needs real proof, and the burden of proof sits on the person claiming the gift, not on the woman. The delay did not bar the claim either, because the people who benefited from the transfer had to prove it was lawful.
The judgment directed the revenue authorities to correct the land record and give the mother and her daughters their shares.
The Court also told courts and revenue authorities to scrutinise any transaction that takes property away from women, including fake gifts and fraudulent transfers.
Why do women still lose their share?
Because the fight usually ends before it reaches a court.
Common practices:
- Haq bakhshwana: a woman is made to renounce her share, often under pressure.
- Watta satta: a sister is exchanged in marriage to settle a family property matter.
- Oral gifts called hiba: the family claims the woman gifted her share by word of mouth, with no proof.
- Fake mutations: the land record is changed without the woman's knowledge.
In rural Pakistan, around 70% of working women work in agriculture, yet only about 2% of women own land. The gap between the law and the record is wide.
Is depriving a woman of inheritance a crime?
Yes. It has been a criminal offence since 2011.
The Criminal Law (Third Amendment) Act 2011 inserted section 498-A in the Pakistan Penal Code. Anyone who, by deceitful or illegal means, deprives a woman of inheriting movable or immovable property can be punished with 5 to 10 years in prison, or a fine of one million rupees, or both.
The same law added section 498-C. Making a woman swear on the Holy Quran that she will not claim her share is itself an offence, punishable with 3 to 7 years and a fine. Section 310-A covers giving a woman in marriage for badal-e-sulh, wanni or swara, with 3 to 7 years and a fine of five hundred thousand rupees.
What should you do if your share is denied?
Take it in steps.
- Get the record. Ask for the fard or the property record to see whose name is on it. Property mutation in Pakistan is how ownership changes in official records.
- Put it in writing. Ask for your share in a letter or a message, and keep proof that you asked.
- Go to the Ombudsperson. In Punjab, the Enforcement of Women's Property Rights Act 2021 lets a woman complain directly to an Ombudsperson, who is supposed to decide within 60 days. If a woman was wrongly deprived in the past, the Act lets her claim rent for the whole period the other side held her property. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has a similar law from 2019.
- File a case. A civil suit for partition is the usual route when property is not divided. If the share was taken by deceit, a complaint under PPC 498-A can also be registered with the police.
- Get free help. If you cannot afford a lawyer, legal aid is available in Pakistan.
Your share is fixed the day the person dies. It is not a gift your brothers can choose to give you. If someone says otherwise, they are not telling you the law. The same laws also protect a woman's other property rights, like haq mehr.
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