Though women constitute roughly 48 percent of the population, they lag behind the men in all spheres. The social scales are tilted against women, who would generally never challenge divorce, or fight for maintenance and custody of their children. Since polygamy is permitted under Islamic law, divorce has become commonplace. The Council takes a decision after consulting with an arbitration council which verifies the man's reason for wanting to take a second wife that could range from claiming that his wife is mentally unsound or sterile to unwilling to live with her husband. Only when a man marries a second time without permission of his first wife and the Union Council does the Muslim Family Law permit her to seek divorce and compensation.
Family laws have to change to ensure gender equality, rights activists say.