Gender parity on the bench

The low number of women in Pakistan’s upper judiciary is a concerning issue that requires significantly more attention. A recent report by the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan says there are only seven women among the 126 judges on the superior courts — the Supreme Court, the Federal Shariat Court, and the five high courts. That puts female representation — 5.5% — among the world’s lowest. This situation is unacceptable and highlights the severe gender inequality that exists in Pakistan’s judicial system.

The lack of women in the judiciary is a reflection of the deep-rooted discrimination in society. Women’s poor representation in the higher tiers of Pakistan’s judiciary is not only a crisis for the country’s democracy but also a reflection of a particular mindset that female judges lack eligibility to be elevated to the higher judiciary. The issue of gender inequality in the judiciary requires immediate and confident action that demands a strong will to address it at all levels.

The representation of women in Pakistan’s judiciary is also nowhere near proportional to their share of the overall population at lower court level — only 18% of all judges and judicial officers are women. In a country where women face multiple barriers to accessing justice, it is crucial that the judiciary reflects the diversity of the society it serves. The lack of women in the judiciary is not only a violation of their rights but also undermines public trust in the judiciary.

It is high time that the government and other relevant stakeholders take confident steps to encourage the inclusion of more females in the justice sector. However, this is not something that should be rushed through. Women candidates for judges must be well qualified, and to ensure that, we need to widen the selection pool — less than 18% of lawyers enrolled in the country’s various bars are women. The government should use scholarships and training to make legal careers more appealing to women, if it wants the judiciary to be representative of the society it serves to ensure that justice is accessible to all.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 6^th, 2024.

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