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Pakistan appoints first female SC judge

News Desk || risingbd.com

Published: 10:12, 25 January 2022  
Pakistan appoints first female SC judge

Ayesha Malik, 55, now sits on a bench with 16 other male colleagues in the Muslim-majority country’s top court.

According to lawyers and activists, it was a rare victory after decades of struggle to get representation for women in Pakistan's male-dominated society.

Some lawyers and judges opposed Justice Malik’s appointment as she was seen to be less senior than other candidates.

Pakistan’s judiciary has been historically conservative and male-dominated.

It is the only South Asian country to have never had a female Supreme Court judge, according to Human Rights Watch. In addition, only 4% of Pakistan’s high court judges are women.

Justice Malik, who was educated at the Pakistan College of Law and Harvard University, has served as a high court judge in the city of Lahore in eastern Pakistan for the last two decades.

She is seen to have played an important role in challenging patriarchal legal mores in the province.

Last year, she outlawed the use of so-called “virginity tests” during rape examinations of sexual assault victims.

Lawyers and activists have hailed Justice Malik’s elevation as a historic appointment.

“It’s a huge step forward,” rights activist and lawyer Nighat Dad told AFP news agency. “It is history in the making for Pakistan’s judiciary.”

Others said there was much more still to be done.

Justice Malik was the fourth most senior judge in the lower court from which she has now been elevated._BBC News

Shamera/Al