Shaikh Mirazur Rahman

The recently published verdict of the High Court Division (HCD) on the legality of the polygamy provision in the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961 (MFLO) has revived the age-old debate concerning wife’s consent to a subsequent marriage by the husband. The HCD has reaffirmed the existing law, citing section 6 of the MFLO as it is. However, the matter needs to be reframed, scrutinised more humanely, and in its context, women’s marital rights requires re-evaluation.