Pakistan’s judicial fee not too long ago confirmed the nomination of the primary feminine Supreme Court choose within the Muslim-majority nation’s historical past, paving the best way for Justice Ayesha A. Malik to affix the apex courtroom.
The transfer has been broadly welcomed by the federal government, attorneys, activists and civil society teams, calling it a defining second within the Islamic nation’s judicial historical past.
Pakistan’s Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed supported Malik’s nomination.
The subsequent step is a parliamentary panel the place Prime Minister Imran Khan’s ruling Tehreek-e-Insaf get together has greater than sufficient members to affirm her appointment for a 10-year time period.
“This is an important development for Pakistan. She is a competent judge and a role model for women in the judicial and legal field,” Maleeka Bokhari, a legislator from the ruling get together and parliamentary secretary for legislation and justice, advised DW.
Breaking the glass ceiling
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), an impartial rights organisation, additionally welcomed the appointment.
“As the first woman judge appointed to the apex court in the country’s judicial history, this is an important step towards improving gender diversity in the judiciary, where women reportedly account for only 17% of judges overall and just under 4.4% in the high courts,” HRCP acknowledged.
Observers and rights activists imagine the transfer has damaged the glass ceiling and her appointment will result in elevated alternatives for girls within the authorized subject.
“It has definitely broken the glass ceiling. This will have an impact on cases, not specifically those related to gender, but having a woman judge there will be increased confidence among women to access justice and reach out to the courts,” Nighat Dad, a digital rights lawyer and human rights activist, advised DW.
Bokhari additionally shares the same view. “It is the beginning of the shattering of the glass ceiling, and we hope more women will end up at the top management level in various fields.”
A exceptional authorized profession
After finishing her primary training from colleges in Paris, New York and London, Malik studied legislation on the Pakistan College of Law in Lahore metropolis. She then went on to pursue greater research at Harvard University within the US, the place she was named a London H. Gammon Fellow 1998-1999 for excellent benefit.
Before she was appointed as a excessive courtroom choose, Malik labored in numerous capacities in legislation companies. She additionally authored various publications on commerce and monetary companies, the difficulty of judicial independence and Pakistan’s secular legal guidelines.
Furthermore, Malik had been a reporter for the Oxford Reports on the International Law within the Domestic Courts, a publication of the Oxford University Press.
Malik had additionally been showing as professional bono counsel for NGOs engaged on poverty alleviation, microfinance and abilities improvement packages.
The 55-year-old is presently serving as a choose on the Lahore High Court.
Known for her integrity and self-discipline, Malik was concerned in delivering various landmark verdicts on main constitutional points, together with on the enforcement of worldwide arbitration in Pakistan, declaration of belongings in elections and, most significantly, a ban on finishing up virginity assessments on feminine rape survivors.
Controversial appointment?
Though historic, the judicial fee’s transfer to raise her to the Supreme Court has sparked controversy.
The nine-member physique that was to verify her appointment turned down her elevation to the highest courtroom final yr. The latest vote was shut, with 5 committee members choosing her whereas 4 had been towards.
Many attorneys and even judges mentioned Malik’s choice was made in violation of seniority lists, as she was not among the many high three most senior judges of the decrease courtroom from which she was elevated.
Some attorneys’ our bodies have threatened to strike and boycott courtroom proceedings, saying their requires the drafting of mounted standards for the nomination of Supreme Court judges had been ignored.
“There is no question more representation of women is needed in the judiciary. Having a woman there is a positive development but we cannot condone the process through which arbitrary and non-transparent decisions have been made — not just in this instance but prior to this appointment as well,” Imaan Mazari, an Islamabad-based lawyer and rights activist, advised DW.
“I don’t think the opposition of the bar should have been made controversial — it was not specific to Justice Ayesha Malik, nor did anyone question her competence as a judge. The debate was over the judicial commission’s process,” mentioned Mazari.
A step in the direction of gender equality in judiciary
Usama J Malik, a senior lawyer, mentioned that there’s a false impression that almost all of male attorneys in Pakistan have opposed Ayesha Malik’s elevation to the highest courtroom due to her gender.
“Many male lawyers wholeheartedly support her elevation and feel that there should be more female, ethnic and religious minority members in the higher judiciary.”
Dad, the digital rights lawyer, mentioned that regardless of the most recent transfer, extra efforts must be made to make sure a better variety of feminine judges within the nation’s excessive courts and the Supreme Court.
“There should be an increased focus on promoting women judges from lower courts to high courts. Malik has been promoted based on merit and there are many other female judges and lawyers capable of working in higher courts,” she mentioned.
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