30-year-old Rukhsana Gul (pseudonym), a mother of four children from Quetta, aspired to build something of her own. Her business venture started with an online communication tool. She began selling clothes through WhatsApp, connecting with potential buyers and a building online customer base. After her mother’s death, she went through a testing period, prompting her to do something beyond the motherhood responsibilities. Earning an income was important, but she wanted to establish her own independent identity.
She concealed her business from her husband, hoping that earning her independent money would ultimately earn his approval and lead him to support her business. For a month, she tried to expand her business, attracting two and three orders. But when her husband became aware of it after checking her phone, he physically assaulted her and smashed the phone, shutting down her independent business permanently. The business just lasted for a month. Her husband, who is a businessman, insisted that she should rely on him for money rather than earn independently. His stance was clear: “Whatever you need, take it from me.” He maintained that she should be financially dependant on him, regardless of whether he could afford it or not, but she is not allowed to earn by her own.
The violence, however, was a regular occurrence in her life. Her husband had always been violent, and after this incident, he confiscated her phone permanently. As a result, she lost contact with her customers, family members and other contacts. He also seized the money received from her orders, leaving the business with no means to proceed further. When a friend suggested her to take legal action against her husband, Rukhsana hesitated owing to little financial security as her father’s family was struggling financially. With four children to look after and her husband controlling the household finances, she worried the fallout of legally confronting him. “I have my children, my home and my life built around him,” she said, clarifying why she did not oppose him.
Despite everything she had endured, Rukhsana still continued to believe that her husband might eventually accept her desire for financial independence. “If he permits me, I will be glad to do something of my own,” she said. For now, her pursuit for economic independence remains stalled, with her decision to earn independently rest with the permission of her husband.
Rukhsana’s experience mirrors a broader challenge in women’s economic empowerment: access to income does not always guarantee financial autonomy. The World Bank’s 2026 Gender Data Landscape reports that financial-account ownership among women in Pakistan stood at 11.9 per cent in 2024, compared with 42.3 per cent among men. While account ownership and control over earnings are distinct measures, the disparity provides wider context for the financial barriers women deal with.
Laraib Ghaffar, a gender-based violence (GBV) expert explained that a woman’s financial reliance on men can become an instrument of control within marriage. When women start earning their own income, some husbands deem it as a challenge to their dominance, fearing that economic independence will undermine their influence over their wives. “Finances are one means through which she will remain under control, she will stay submissive to him,” she said.
Without the liberty to pursue a career, control their earnings and make financial choices without fear of violence, women struggle to achieve genuine economic emancipation.
For women like Rukhsana, perusing legal protection is further fraught with uncertainty of what lies ahead. The expert said that women mostly fear being evicted from their homes, losing financial stability or having no safe place to seek refuge. “The most herculean thing is that for a woman, neither her parents’ home is hers, nor her husband’s home is hers,” the expert said, underlining the insecurity women face when contemplating leaving an abusive partner.
The expert noted that women who seek legal action mostly rely on a robust safety network whether it comes from financially sound parents, educational qualifications or their own earnings. Without such backings, even women facing violence may refrain from challenging their husbands especially when their children and future are at stake. Women who fear losing their homes, children and financial stability tend to endure an abusive relationships as a mere viable option.
The expert also stressed that earning independently does not automatically transform into financial autonomy. Women who are working in agriculture, irrigation, embroidery and other sectors often have meagre clout over their money as their earnings are handed over to male family members. “Whatever income comes in goes into the hands of men,” Laraib said. Women may appear economically independent but their financial lives are directly influenced by their male family members.
A married woman does not require her husband’s permit to build a profession or operate a business, according to Maha Shafqat Khan, a High Court advocate specialising in gender-based violence. Article 18 of Pakistan’s Constitution protects the right of every citizen to enter any lawful profession and carry out a lawful trade or business, irrespective of gender. “There is no general legal requirement under Pakistani law for a married woman to obtain her husband’s authorisation before exercising this right,” she said.
Restricting woman’s ability to earn or control her finances may also amount to economic abuse under the Balochistan Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act, 2014. Section 4 (e) deals with the deprivation of financial resources and limitations on access to resources an aggrieved person is legally entitled to use and enjoy. Under Section 9, courts may also provide monetary relief including compensation for loss of earnings where the legal criteria are fulfilled. The law also enables avenues for protection against unlawful eviction and for residence orders under Sections 7 and 8. “A woman who is subjected to domestic violence may seek legal protection without inevitably filing for a divorce or dissolving the marriage altogether,” Maha said.
Though statutory safeguards are provided, poor implementation continue to increase women’s vulnerability. Limited availability of legal aid, prolonged court proceedings, inadequate institutional backings and male-dominated family structure can deter and discourage women from breaking their silence against abuse. The lawyer emphasized that effective and meaningful protection need not only substantial and comprehensive legislation but also accessible legal assistance and stringent enforcement framework that preserve women’s economic independence, integrity, dignity and safety. Rukhsana’s experience illustrates why women’s financial empowerment cannot be gauged by income merely. Without the liberty to pursue a career, control their earnings and make financial choices without fear of violence, women may struggle to accomplish genuine economic emancipation. For Rukhsana, the question is, no longer, generally whether she can operate a business but whether she can decide to proceed that step.