On Monday, Pakistan swore in Ayesha Malik as its first woman supreme court judge, a landmark moment in a nation where many activists say the law is abused against women. As part of a ceremony in the capital of Islamabad, Malik earned a seat on Pakistan’s highest court alongside 16 male colleagues.
Harvard-educated Ayesha Malik has been serving as a judge in Lahore, Pakistan’s eastern city, for 20 years.
Her legal reforms in Punjab state have been credited with rolling back patriarchal legal mores.
In 2021, she outlawed a deeply invasive and medically discredited test for defining a woman’s level of sexual experience. Pakistani women often face discrimination in rape and sexual assault cases, and the test was intended to discredit victims by casting aspersions on their character.
Malik’s appointment to Pakistan’s highest court may set the stage for more women to enter the traditionally conservative and male-dominated judiciary of the Islamic republic.
Khadija Siddiqi, a law professor and women’s rights activist, said, “She has broken all barriers in the judicial system, which will allow other women to move forward in the future resulting in more women-centric decisions within the court system.”
Nevertheless, her appointment has been beset by controversy for the past four months, with allegations she jumped ahead of more senior male candidates qualified for the role. As a protest against Malik’s nomination, the Pakistan Bar Council staged a strike earlier in the month.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Monday felicitated Justice Ayesha Malik on becoming the first-ever woman judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan congratulated Justice Ayesha Malik on becoming the first woman ever to sit on Pakistan’s Supreme Court. “I want to congratulate Justice Ayesha Malik on becoming the first woman judge of the Supreme Court. I wish her all the best,” he said in a tweet.
Parliamentary Committee on Appointment of Superior Judiciary (PCAJS) and Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) approved her appointment earlier. Before joining the Supreme Court, Justice Ayesha Malik served on the Lahore High Court.
