GENDER, PROPERTY, AND POWER: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF WOMEN’S LAND RIGHTS IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

Women’s land rights remain one of the most contested dimensions of gender inequality in Pakistan despite constitutional protections, Islamic inheritance principles, and international commitments toward gender justice. Access to land and property is closely associated with economic security, bargaining power, political participation, and social empowerment; however, women in Pakistan continue to experience systematic exclusion from ownership, inheritance, control, and management of property. This paper critically examines the structural barriers affecting women’s land rights in Pakistan by exploring the relationship between gender, property, and power. Using a qualitative exploratory research design based on secondary data analysis, the study draws upon academic literature, policy documents, legal frameworks, reports of national and international organizations, and existing empirical studies. The findings reveal that although Islamic law and state legislation formally recognize women’s inheritance and ownership rights, patriarchal social structures, customary practices, weak legal implementation, and economic dependency significantly undermine women’s practical access to land. Cultural practices such as haq bakhshwana, dowry substitution, cousin marriages, and coercive relinquishment of inheritance continue to reinforce gender inequality in both rural and urban contexts. The study further argues that legal reforms alone are insufficient without broader structural transformation involving legal enforcement, institutional accountability, social awareness, and women’s economic empowerment. The paper concludes that women’s land rights in Pakistan should be understood not merely as a legal issue but as a broader question of power, economic justice, and social transformation.