In Islam, the Nikahnama is a crucial component of marriage. Not knowing what your rights are in marriage is a clear violation of women’s rights.
People frequently discuss the expectations placed on women before they get married. Examples include how to win over her in-laws and how to be the ideal housewife, a role that occasionally depicts a selfless, self-sacrificing individual who will do whatever it takes to maintain her status. These are cultural norms, not hard and fast rules. However, what about the laws that apply to a man and a woman when they sign the Nikahnama.
How many of us truly understand the terms of the contract, its implications, and its entirety?
An ordinary person would enter into marriage, a contractual commitment, at some point in their lives. The effects of this relationship extend beyond a person’s personal life because marital status is linked to a number of other issues, including identity cards, maintenance or inheritance of property, dower, and job allowances for married individuals. Both during and after your marriage, your Nikahnama will defend you. It’s a tool for planning, much like a prenuptial. Every Nikahnama is unique to the two of you. You can document things like your right to divorce, maintenance, and mahr. It’s an effective document. You can specify just terms. It can lessen future potential points of contention. It can protect a woman’s rights during the union and dissolution of her marriage.
The sole reason married women are weak is that, after they sign their Nikahnama, they do not have many rights.
People close to the bride either don’t think it’s appropriate to get in touch with her before cancelling terms, or the bride’s family doesn’t keep her informed. In either case, the woman is unaware of the rights she is entitled to if a negative event occurs before marriage. According to conventional Islamic law, a couple is officially married when they give their permission in front of two witnesses. They then go on and sign the Nikahnama, which establishes their mutual responsibilities and acts as legal documentation in accordance with the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961 (MFLO). It is significant to remember that the Nikahnama serves as a civil contract between the parties, and this will serve as the foundation for the conversation that follows. This basically means that this contract will be evaluated by a court of law in the event that the marriage is terminated.
Not only are two thirds of Pakistani women illiterate, but they also do not understand their Nikahnama. (The Pakistan Commission on Women’s Status). Most people who are literate do not read every word in the Nikahnama.
easypaisa has launched a new feature called audio Nikahnama where women can now listen to the audio Nikahnama by giving a missed call on 03411171222 in 7 different languages (Urdu, English, Balochi, Pashto, Sindhi, Punjabi, Saraiki & amp; Sign Language).
The easypaisa app offers the audio Nikahnama in seven different languages. In addition, a sign language video version of the Nikahnama is available for persons with hearing impairments.
Now that women are able to listen to all of the essential Nikahnama clauses, they can help others comprehend the privileges that were granted to them at the time of their Nikah by elucidating the clauses. For example, in Pakistan, most people still view talking about the Nikahnama between spouses as socially unacceptable. The elders of the family determine among themselves what is the right quantity to write as the mahr, therefore it is not the couple’s responsibility to talk about the mahr. Some families just disregard their daughter’s Islamic rights by requesting less than a reasonable amount, taking advantage of the groom, not realizing that this is a flagrant breach of the bride’s rights.
The Courts have consistently maintained the significance of Nikahnama by characterizing it as a ‘public document’ with a strong ‘presumption of truth’ affixed to it. Any party that contests a phrase in the Nikahnama or the nature of the document in question is required to provide evidence to support its claims. easypaisa is bridging the gaps and trying to make the women of Pakistan aware of what is given to them by the state and by their religion.
As long as we continue to fight to educate men and women about the significance of filling out every provision in Nikahnama, there is still hope and easypaisa is reviving that hope with Nikahnama.
cover image via easypaisa