Pakistan’s first female Judge Justice Ayesha A. Malik has added yet another feather to her crown by making to the BBC’s 100 Women 2022 list. Yes, the talented legal personality is among the 100 influential and inspiring women from around the globe, which is a matter of great pride for Pakistan. Justice Ayesha Malik has been a success story for Pak women. Despite all odds, Pakistani women continue to scale new heights in different fields of life in the male-dominated society of ours, where women are subjected to all sorts of discrimination due to social barriers.

Despite all the snags, they have been touching stardom in a unique way in almost all walks i.e., social, political, judicial and sports fronts and making the nation proud from time to time with their rare feats and accomplishments.

The first quarter of the current year has also witnessed various ‘firsts’ by Pakistani women which is something to celebrate and cheer about in these distributed economic and social environment.

The year 2022 dawned with a great news when in January, first woman Supreme Court judge was sworn in our country  in what was termed as a landmark moment in the historically male-dominated judicial set up of the  nation.

In fact, the entire course of action to elevate Justice Ayesha Malik to the top court from the high court was enough to  show how difficult it is for women to make to the top in their respective fields.

This is something to cheer about in these tension-filled times.

She made headline earlier this year, when the appointment of Justice Ayesha Malik as judge of the Supreme Court added another welcome dimension to women’s achievement as Justice Malik became the first woman to be the first judge of Supreme Court by taking oath of her office earlier this year.

Her appointment held special significance as it occurred after a much-debated and contentious process and it is something which being celebrated as a defying moment in the legal circles. That’s why the legal fraternity and the civil society termed her appointment as good augury for Pakistan women as it will pave the way for increased opportunities for females on the legal front Justice.

Justice Ayesha Malik’s achievement  will go a long way in women’s journey to progress as her elevation to the coveted slot has set a good precedent which will go a long way in history of Pakistan’s judiciary where women have taken various strides serving on various important positions and delivering justice to the society in a manner not less their male counterparts.

It is not that our women are not capable to serve on such coveted positions; the problem is social norms and male-dominated set-up which serve as obstacles in women’s journey to stardom.

It takes a lot of struggle for women to make to the top and the same applies to Justice Ayesha Malik, who has served on various positions before making to the current coveted slot.

The way the social media is abuzz with welcome tweets from individuals from various strata of the society including the common citizens  as also the organizations working for women’s cause have hailed this development as historic one and good augury for the women’s cause in the male dominated society.

By all standards, Justice Malik’s  appointment on the superior court and her subsequent efforts for women’s empowerment in legal framework is a great stride for Pak women as women in leadership roles will definitely help the country achieve gender equality to certain extent.

Earlier women judges have been appointed to the high courts and also to the position of Chief Justice Of High Court but hers is the first case be elevated to the apex court.

Justice Ayesha’s  achievement also reminds one of Justice Tahira Safdar, who was sworn in September 2018 as the first woman chief justice of Balochistan High Court, which too was a history of its kind as she too became the first women to take the slot of a high court chief justice in Pakistan.

Justice Tahira also has another first to her name as she also became the first woman civil judge in Balochistan.

Another big name coming to mind is Justice Majida Rizvi, who in a historic move became the first female judge of Sindh High Court in 1994.

That it has taken decades for a woman to head a high court in Pakistan i.e. in 2018 and now making to the country’s superior court despite our patriarchal set-up speaks volumes.

There are also several other notable names having made it to the superior judiciary namely justice Khalida Rasheed Khan, Jusice Yasmin Abbasi and Justice Qaiser Iqbal are to name a few.

It is wort- mentioning here that Justice Yasmin Abbasi became Federal Ombudsperson for Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace Yasmin Abbasi while Qaiser Iqbal, who was elevated to the slot of  Additional Judge of Sindh High Court  in October 2005, was afterwards confirmed to that coveted positions after a year in October 2006,  among others.

 Khalid Rashid, hailing from Peshawar,  was appointed to the District and Sessions Judge and had also created history by becoming the first female Sessions Judge in the entire history of the sub-continent.

Afterwards, she achieved another milestone by becoming the judge of the Peshawar High Court in 1994 which also made her to be the first female judge in the Superior Judiciary of our country.

Khalida Rashid then added another feather to her crown in 2011 when was appointed as the President of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, which made the entire country pride.

It shows that despite various obstacles in the male-dominated society of ours, women are increasingly making to coveted positions in the legal profession as well.

There are a good number of female lawyers in the session courts. And with the appointment of Justice Malik on the Supreme Court and her continued success on the legal front, it is hoped that many more will be following in Justice Malik’s footsteps in years to come.

Published in The Daily National Courier, December, 09 2022

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