Sir: Courts in Pakistan are laden with domestic dispute cases about custody and maintenance. Our family law is quite clear on the rights to a child’s custody but is vague on women’s rights. Our society oppresses the weaker gender in every possible way. It is comparatively easier to damage a woman’s reputation as a mother by describing her as ‘unchaste, a bad influence and mentally unstable’, etc. Several women end up in mental hospitals for ailments as minor as depression and anxiety due to inadequate awareness about mental diseases. This in effect becomes corroborative evidence against a woman’s effectiveness as a mother, leading her to lose the custodial rights over her children. And eventually she loses almost all the rights over her children. At times taking advantage of the lacunae in the family laws such as lack of jurisdiction of the courts, etc, fathers take their children abroad or to another city. Many unfortunate women have to live with this nightmare for their entire life. Courts should adjudicate on ensuring that the mothers have access to their children. MOBEEN SHAH Via Email