LEGAL PLURALISM AND WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN PAKISTAN: RELIGION, STATE AUTHORITY AND SOCIAL PRACTICE

Abstract

This article examines how legal pluralism shapes women’s rights in Pakistan through the interaction of state authority, religious norms, and social practices. Adopting a qualitative socio-legal approach, the study analyses statutory provisions, judicial decisions, documented case materials, and relevant secondary literature to explore how multiple legal orders operate concurrently within everyday governance. The findings show that while women’s rights are formally recognised within Pakistan’s constitutional and legislative framework, their implementation is frequently constrained by localised interpretations of Islamic law and deeply embedded social hierarchies. State courts, religious authorities, and informal dispute-resolution mechanisms operate within overlapping and at times competing spheres of authority, producing outcomes influenced by both institutional limitations and socially sanctioned expectations. By foregrounding women’s experiences within these plural legal settings, the article demonstrates that access to rights is shaped through negotiation, mediation, and power relations rather than solely through formal legal rules. It argues that assessments of state efforts to promote gender justice must account for the interdependence of religion, law, and social norms in shaping legal outcomes. The study contributes to scholarship on legal pluralism, religion–state relations, and gender justice in Muslim-majority societies, while offering insights relevant to legal reform, governance, and social justice initiatives.