Pakistan appoints first female judge to sharia court

Published December 30, 2013
Federal Shairat Court Chief Justice Agha Rafiq Ahmed (R), receives an oath from Justice Ashraf Jehan (L) in Karachi on Monday. -AFP Photo
Federal Shairat Court Chief Justice Agha Rafiq Ahmed (R), receives an oath from Justice Ashraf Jehan (L) in Karachi on Monday. -AFP Photo

KARACHI: Pakistan's national sharia court, which hears cases under the country's Islamic legislation, on Monday appointed a female judge for the first time in its 33-year history.

Ashraf Jehan, who was serving as an additional judge at the high court in Sindh, made history as she took the oath in Karachi.

“It was a historic oath-taking ceremony today when an able lady judge had joined the Shariat Court,” Agha Rafiq Ahmed, the chief justice of the Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan, told AFP.

The court was established in 1980 during the rule of military dictator Ziaul Haq as part of a sweeping Islamisation of Pakistan's institutions.

It examines the country's laws to check them for conformity with Islamic injunctions and hears appeals under religious legislation known as the “Hudood Laws”, which run parallel to the penal code.

“There was no bar in the constitution to make a woman the judge of Shariat Court and there is no discrimination between men and women,” Ahmed said.

The chief justice of the Shariat Court, who rarely speaks to the media, said he was pleased to comment on an historic moment.

“I took the initiative as it would send the message in the world that we are enlightened people and would dispel many misconceptions,” he said.

Opinion

Editorial

Privatisation divide
Updated 14 May, 2024

Privatisation divide

How this disagreement within the government will sit with the IMF is anybody’s guess.
AJK protests
14 May, 2024

AJK protests

SINCE last week, Azad Jammu & Kashmir has been roiled by protests, fuelled principally by a disconnect between...
Guns and guards
14 May, 2024

Guns and guards

THERE are some flawed aspects to our society that we must start to fix at the grassroots level. One of these is the...
Spending restrictions
Updated 13 May, 2024

Spending restrictions

The country's "recovery" in recent months remains fragile and any shock at this point can mean a relapse.
Climate authority
13 May, 2024

Climate authority

WITH the authorities dragging their feet for seven years on the establishment of a Climate Change Authority and...
Vending organs
13 May, 2024

Vending organs

IN these cash-strapped times, black marketers in the organ trade are returning to rake it in by harvesting the ...