This document summarizes the closing speech given by the defense counsel Sahar Saqib in the family law case of Zarina Bano v Abdul Ghafoor. The defense counsel argues that Mr. Ghafoor has dutifully provided for his family for 8 years, working hard and sacrificing personal pleasures. However, Ms. Bano has insisted on exercising her right to dissolve the marriage maliciously and out of petty revenge, despite Mr. Ghafoor's faultless support and care for her and their children. The counsel asserts that Mr. Ghafoor deserves to have his conjugal rights restored due to his selfless efforts for his family's wellbeing.

1. ADVOCACY SESSION #3: Family Law.
Islamabad School of Law, 12th November 2012.
ZARINA BANO v ABDUL GHAFOOR
Sahar Saqib (Defense Counsel)
Closing Speech
Your Honour, although it is certain and undeniable that dissolution of marriage either by
talaaq or khula is allowed by Islamin our national courts, it is not a right that should by any
means be taken lightly, nor a decision that should be made in haste or anger. With great
power comes great responsibility. While both parties have their respective rights of
dissolution, the Claimant, Ms. Zarina Bano, has insisted upon exercising this right allowed to
her, being the least liked of all rights bestowed by Allah, and she has done so malafide with a
malicious intention to take petty and uncalled for revenge on a husband who has done
nothing but dutifully provide for and lovingly nurture her and their two offspring. For eight
solid years, Your Honour, such dedication and perseverance as shown by my client in his
flawless provision for his family, during the harsh economic times that we all are constantly
subjected to and made to endure. Pains that this man undertook, who in turn asked nothing
of his wife, except that she observe her obligations towards him prescribed by Islam, and
owed to him as her husband.
I feel remorse at the condition of my client the Defendant, who has to undergo such court
procedures when he is at no fault. Is it a crime to work hard for the sake of your family? I ask
this learned court; is it such a heinous offence to forego all your personal worldly pleasures
just so that you can feed your family thrice a day, clothe their backs, educate them and pay
the bills on time? What man wouldn’t want to squander his hard earned money and take his
family on vacations to exotic locations? Irresponsible men, Your Honour. Irresponsible men
with Mr. Ghafoor’s income would make such poor and selfish judgments.
Great men are amongst us today, Your Honour; men who can go to such extreme lengths of
self-sacrifice, displaying Herculean feats of self-deprivation, all in their love for their wives
and children. Their struggle is silent, internal, but it is their war against the world. They can
wake up at ungodly hours and they can come home tired and spent, and still muster up the
patience to listen to their wives complain. Occasionally husbands of Mr. Ghafoor’s high
calibre are entitled to lose that unwavering patience if their wives are stubborn and
persistent in their daily pursuit of upsetting them and imposing on them a false sense of
guilt for neglecting their family. But these men can cope and put up with their ungrateful
attitudes all the while, Your Honour, because they are bound by the ropes of their sense of
duty, responsibility, and love for their families. One such great man, Your Honour, a hero
amongst us, is Mr. Abdul Ghafoor.

2. Marriage, as you well know, Your Honour, is a two-way street. One gives, so that he can in
turn receive. One sacrifices, so that he can take pleasure in beholding the fruit of his
sacrifice; in the shape of the success of his children and their smiling faces; the happiness
they all share as a family, and a blissful contentedness at the end of the day’s trials. Mr.
Ghafoor has made his share of sacrifices. He has worked hard, made an honest living, and
forgone countless worldly pursuits, for the sake of his family. But he is left unrewarded. He is
not able to see those cherished smiles on his family’s faces when he comes home late from
work, unwelcomed and tired. His wife is thankless and does not appreciate his efforts to
maintain her. She also conveniently forgets the three years in which he tirelessly and without
complaint took on the household chores upon himself, during a time when she herself was
unable to do so. Mr. Ghafoor has also been subjected to constant nagging and belittling by
his mother-in-law, of which he is not at all deserving.
The deferred payment of the Rs. 5000/- haq mehr is another complaint in the long list of
qualms his wife Ms. Zarina Bano has against him. It is very sad to behold that she would
raise complaint of such a matter when it is clearly and evidently obvious that her husband is
trying his utmost best just to make ends meet. Can she not see that there are no spare five
thousand rupee notes lying around the house, or in her husband’s pockets? Can she not also
see the toll the daily pressures of work have had on her husband? Her obvious lack of
empathy and understanding towards her husband has led her to continue to add to her list
of unholy complaints, and adding salt to Mr. Ghafoor’s wounded love. She has proven to be
an extremely unhelpful, uncooperative and ungrateful spouse and member of Mr. Ghafoor’s
household. It is truly saddening to witness Ms. Bano’s utter disregard for her husband. Had
she taken the time to observe him, Your Honour, she would know that he is breaking his
back in order to give her her haq mehr as soon as he physically can; because that is the truly
selfless character of my client, Your Honour.
The statement of their neighbour Mr. Faisal Memon reiterates my stance in saying that he
thought Mr. Ghafoor was a responsible and good man, and that he never believed Zarina
Bano’s claims of domestic violence. We have even seen in the XYZ Hospital’s report in Annex
A that as far as the injuries relating to the night of January 12th, 2003 are concerned, they
could have been caused by someone falling, for example, from a flight of stairs, which is
exactly what Mr. Memon witnessed.
Therefore, Your Honour, and members of this learned court, I end my arguments here with a
prayer to you that you will not let Mr. Ghafoor be subjected to his suffering any longer, and
grant him his conjugal rights by virtue of Section 9 of the Family Courts Act 1964. In the
unfortunate and unseemly alternative that it is not proven, without reasonable doubt, that
the allegations of the Claimant are false, mala fide, spiteful and vindictive, and that justice to
my client could not be brought, it is the Defendant’s humble plea that the Claimant may
kindly be directed to return the dower amount of Rs. 5000/- and other benefits received by
her from the Defendant during the entire subsistence of the marriage.

3. STATUTARY REFERENCES
Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939
Section 2
“A woman married under Muslim Law shall be entitled to obtain a decree for the dissolution
of her marriage on any one or more of the following grounds, namely: that the husband has
neglected her or has failed to provide for her maintenance for a period of two years; that
the husband treats her with cruelty, that is to say, (a) [habitually] assaults her or makes her
life miserable by cruelty of conduct even if such conduct does not amount to physical ill-
treatment…”
Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961
Section 9(1) Maintenance
If any husband fails to maintain his wife adequately… the wife… may… seek… any legal
remedy available…
Section 10 Dower
Where no details about the mode of payment of the dower are specified in the nikahnama
or the marriage contract, the entire amount of the dower shall be presumed to be payable
on demand.
Family Courts Act, 1964
Section 9(1-a) Restitution of Conjugal Rights
A Defendant husband may, where no earlier suit for restitution of conjugal rights is pending,
claimfor a decree of restitution of conjugal rights in his written statement to a suit for
dissolution of marriage or maintenance, which shall be deemed as a plaint and no separate
suit shall lie for it.