Daily Times

Ninety-nine percent of women are denied at least one key marriage right in their nikahnama. A staggering statistic in a country where women meticulously plan all other aspects of the marriage; from clothes, to makeup, venue and the jewellery.

Yet, the same women are ousted from any participation and say in the filling out of the Nikahnama.

This exclusion of women is even more concerning given the widespread practice of crossing out columns in the Nikahnama, which continues despite being criminalised under the Punjab Muslim Family Law Ordinance 1961.

So this wedding season, when all brides’ eyes were glued to the latest trends in bridal fashion, Fahad Hussayn announced the launch of a bridal jewellery collection. However, what seemed like an ordinary launch to everyone was actually a poignant reminder to brides-to-be and their parents to safeguard women’s marriage rights in the Nikahnama.

The thorn-studded jewellery set, launched in collaboration with the Centre for Human Rights was a visual metaphor for every kaanta (cross) on the Nikahnama that could be a possible kaanta (thorn) in a woman’s married life.

The surprise reveal came in the form of the video piece which featured Ramsha Khan as a bride set against a hauntingly beautiful track, succinctly summarizing the key message of the campaign – for women to not let themselves submit to the future possibilities of thorns in their path.

“For me fashion and advocacy have always gone hand-in-hand. Here too, the embedded thorns within the jewellery piece were a visual metaphor for how painful the kaante (crossed-out columns) on the Nikahnama could be for a woman. This wedding season, our message was simple: #KaanteNaLagao. The Nikahnama is more than a formality; it’s a foundation for respect and equality. This campaign inspires women to know and claim their rights,” Fahad Hussayn said.

“A donations leg was introduced to the campaign, in tandem with Bridal Couture Week, by auctioning a thorn-embedded bangle on where all proceeds will go towards legal aid support for women in Pakistan who cannot afford a lawyer or the costs of going to court for issues related to their marriage rights,” actress Ramsha Khan says.

“While the metaphor and video delivered the shock value to garner people’s attention, we understand how important it is to move a campaign past the ‘abstract’ stage. So along with an hour-long podcast with Mashion to explain the importance of understanding women’s rights in the Nikahnama, and the auction of the bangle in collaboration with BCW, an on-ground partnership with Depilex is in the works to be able to speak to brides when they have the most free time, right before their wedding: at the makeup station,” Sevim Saadat, Co-Founder CFHR says.

The campaign has successfully piggy-backed on the wedding season to educate brides and their families on what is really important- the implications of crossed-out or incomplete columns in a Nikahnama on marital life, with the Centre for Human Rights already receiving queries from girls wanting to understand their rights.

Women, girls and any person interested in knowing more about their rights, in need of legal advice or aid can call 1413 the National Commission for Human Rights dedicated helpline on women’s marriage rights.

The diagnostic study of nikahnamas in Punjab published by the Centre for Human Rights (CFHR) in collaboration with the National Commission for Human Rights and Musawi Private Limited found that of the nikahnamas reviewed, 89 percent of brides did not have both their DRD & monthly maintenance; 8 percent had only the right to maintenance but not the DRD; 2 percent had the DRD but not the monthly maintenance and only 1 percent had both rights.