Women SC judges

E-Paper | May 12, 2026

IT is encouraging to note parliamentary debate on gender imbalance in the Supreme Court even as the government drags its feet on the issue.

On Tuesday, the Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice deferred a bill tabled by PPP Senator Babar Awan in May calling for a 33pc quota for women judges to be appointed to the SC through an amendment of the Supreme Court Act, 1997.

Earlier, a similar bill in the National Assembly mandating a 25pc quota was opposed.

Although to date, Pakistan is the only country in South Asia to never have appointed a woman as SC judge, there is no constitutional bar that prevents women judges from the higher courts.

That said, only seven of the country’s 112 High Court judges are women. The Pakistan Bar Council, the highest regulatory body for lawyers, has never had a woman member.

Such glaring under-representation of women in the judiciary reflects a deeper gender imbalance. Even so, women in the legal profession have demonstrated mettle. Stellar SC contenders included Majida Rizvi (the first woman judge), Khalida Rasheed, Qaiser Iqbal, and Yasmin Abbasi.

Without sustainable efforts at reform (support from bar councils included) to include women in the higher courts, progress will be slow. Surely, if three out of four law students are women, there is no shortage of interested young lawyers.

Moreover, since judicial appointments to the SC come from among High Court judges and lawyers, there is the argument that quotas at the SC level might not be as effective if there are such few qualified judges. That may hold some weight but quotas must not be dismissed as part of the remedy.

After all, quotas for women parliamentarians have made a difference to their political contributions. Further, the lack of transparency in the all-male judicial appointments process must be remedied.

Criteria for nominations to the superior judiciary must be made public. If the process is unbiased and merit-based, then quotas would partially address gender disparity in the legal profession.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2016

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simple guy

Aug 04, 2016 10:36am

don't they belong to kitchen? Just kidding. Thats what men think anyway

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MZJ

Aug 04, 2016 10:54am

I am hopeful that Justice Ashraf Jehan , the first female judge of the Federal Shariat Court makes it to the Supreme Court.

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A. A.

Aug 04, 2016 11:39am

I have worked in a position once where all the three levels above me were females (all were top executives) - and I had the best working experience during that time. They were better equipped to handle stress, much better at resource management, extremely hardworking and excellent at multi-tasking. I highly recommend putting women at top in any organization (based on merit, of course).

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raja idrees

Aug 04, 2016 11:50am

But Pakistan was the first muslim country who had a female PM...

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naveed

Aug 04, 2016 12:11pm

maybe there was none who was good enough

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mansoor mubeen

Aug 04, 2016 12:11pm

it is rather an amusing suggestion to reserve a quota for females to be appointed on the highest court of country, if not ridiculous. posts on such important positions should be filled on the basis of merit rather on gender discrimination.

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A.R

Aug 04, 2016 12:23pm

@mansoor mubeen do you really think many of the male judges there are by merit? a quota is the only solution.

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Najaf

Aug 04, 2016 12:47pm

Women do not get equal opportunities in Pakistan so there definitely should be quota allocated for them. Women are less corrupt and this position requires fair people. But the quota should be filled on merit.

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Imran Ahmed

Aug 04, 2016 02:12pm

My dream. First of all, intake to the junior judiciary should be transparently merit based on the CSS examination or a slightly modified examination. There should be no exceptions. Elevation through judicial ranks to D&SJ should be through a combination of professional examinations and interviews by a panel of superior court judges presided over by a non judicial chairman, perhaps a retired Service Chief or Federal Secretary. A Law Department administrator should be responsible for providing a hands-on report to CJ on the application of due process in lower courts, also, performance reports and provide liaison to logistical support from the government and prevent abuse. The procedure adopted for appointment to the High Court could also apply to the appointment of the highest trial judges - the D&SJs which are pivotal appointments. For a period of 5 to 10 years a small minimum quota of female judges, perhaps 10%, and another 10% from minorities, should be ensured.

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s kumar

Aug 04, 2016 02:39pm

Fathima Beevi was the first women Supreme Court judge in india and as well as in asia in 1989

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Salman

Aug 04, 2016 02:48pm

The appointment needs to be on merit, irrespective of the gender

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khi196

Aug 04, 2016 03:01pm

Because they will start making honest decisions, then, it will be dangerous to democracy.

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Ali Gohar

Aug 04, 2016 08:29pm

"Surely, if three out of four law students are women, there is no shortage of interested young lawyers." this is a false analogy and stat, because its not the strength of students, its how many female lawyers actually practice law in comparison to men, and indeed women should make it to the supreme court, no denying that fact.

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Hello hello

Aug 05, 2016 01:01am

Justice Nasira Javed Iqbal, wife of Javed Iqbal and daughter in law of poet Iqbal, served as judge of Lahore high court from 1995 - 2002.

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Junaid Ahmed

Aug 05, 2016 02:27am

For your information, United Kingdom (which is among one of the most proclaimed liberal society in the world) has never appointed any female judge to its Supreme Court until 2008. We need to realize before coming to any conclusion that the appointment of judges in superior judiciary is based on the principle of merit rather than any quota or gender. For instance, if anyone visits the Sindh High Court in Karachi, predominately he will only come across male members wearing black coats. The female percentage is extremely low for various reasons. This shows that the legal fraternity is dominated by male practitioners who are in an exorbitant number compared to female lawyers. Hence, it is highly unlikely that anyone could expect a female judge to be appointed in the highest court of Pakistan i.e. Supreme Court, especially with the prevailing circumstances if we want merit to prevail

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