Recent bar council elections expose legal fraternity's gender imbalance yet again

Lawyer Saadia Noreen jumped into the fray for the upcoming Islamabad Bar Council (IBC) elections for the first time after meeting the eligibility criteria.

While some senior lawyers supported her, recognizing her experience and credibility, she faced backlash from many others. The detractors questioned her experience and remarked that no other women were running for these major polls, and there was no need for her either in the male-dominated campaign.

Noreen says many of her contenders hosted large campaign dinners and gatherings, despite it being against the rules of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC). This open violation made it harder for her to maintain strong momentum during her campaign. Not only was such extravagance against the rules, she couldn't afford to organize such events either given major financial constraints.

“Women lawyers earn 10 to 30 percent less than men for the same work. Pay inequality remains widespread and must be addressed. More female mentors and leaders are needed, as gender equality helps make workplaces and male-dominated professions safer and healthier,” explained Noreen.

Despite having fulfilled all campaign requirements, she received little support from her community, and eventually decided to withdraw from the election.

Reduced to a minority

The upcoming Pakistan Bar Council elections took place earlier this month.

Members from the legal community are elected for a five-year term to the Provincial and Islamabad Bar Councils in Pakistan to ensure fair and efficient justice, and protect the rights and interests of practicing lawyers. However, the process remains marred by gender inequality.

Read: Bar poll results may weigh on key IHC judges

A report by Women in Law Initiative Pakistan, The State of Women's Representation as Candidates in Bar Council Elections 2025-30, reveals that out of a total of 638 candidates for all bar councils, 614 (96%) are male, and only 24 (4%) are female. Across Pakistan’s bar councils, there are a total of 148 seats.

This time around, 313 men and 13 women contested in the Punjab Bar Council, with women making up only 4% of candidates. The Sindh Bar Council shows a similar pattern, with 135 men and six women (4%). The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council has 106 men and four women (also 4%), while the Balochistan Bar Council includes 39 men and just one woman (2%).

The Islamabad Bar Council elections are completely devoid of female representation, with 21 male candidates and no female candidates.

Bar Councils lack reserved seats or affirmative action to ensure fair representation of women, and the aforementioned report suggests the percentage of women ultimately elected is expected to be even lower.

“We have seen a pattern emerge that before every election cycle, the eligibility requirements in Section 5A of Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act keep getting amended in a way that disproportionately impacts women and young lawyers,” says Nida Usman, lawyer and founder of Women in Law Initiative Pakistan.

Section 5A of the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act defines the criteria for candidates to qualify for election to a Provincial Bar Council and the Islamabad Bar Council, which, over the years, have become exclusionary for female candidates and early-career lawyers who already face systematic hindrances in the process.

Read More: Pro-govt group leads in bar elections

Before 2018, candidates were only required to be on the roll of advocates and have 10 years of practice as officially registered lawyers. In 2018, the rules became stricter, with candidates having to be on the roll for at least five years and have 15 years of practice. This change excluded some women from the 2020 elections.

Female lawyers claim they often get fewer clients because people generally trust male lawyers more. Consequently, they struggle financially, earning less than their male counterparts for the same work. This adds to the many hindrances they face during bar council campaigns, which require significant financial resources.

By 2025, candidacy eligibility became stricter, with candidates required to be on the roll for at least 10 years and have 15 years of practice. They must also have handled at least 30 decided cases and been a voting member of their district bar association for at least five years.

“Since there are ground realities of legal practice in Pakistan whereby female advocates and young lawyers don’t get equal opportunities to argue cases, and that too be able to show the 30 decided ones in which they independently handled the case is an example of a technical barrier that disproportionately impacts a woman and a young lawyer’s eligibility to stand as a candidate for these elections,” explains Usman.

“Inequalities keep being reproduced as the goalposts of eligibility keep being shifted in favor of older established lawyers that generally end up being male,” she adds.

Noreen weighs in, stating that women are not taken seriously in institutional settings. “Discrimination exists even in courts, where young female lawyers face harassment,” she says, adding that there is no conducive environment for women.

"Inside offices, the situation may be better, but in litigation, inside the courtroom, it’s much harder,” she maintains.

Why does inclusion of women matter? 

The lack of decent representation of women in the bar leads to their exclusion from spaces where major legislative and policy decisions are made.

Two years ago, the Lawyers Welfare and Protection Act of 2023 was enacted to ensure welfare and legal protection for advocates. It includes regulations and rules to safeguard lawyers from violence, intimidation, and harassment while on duty in court. The Act also includes a chapter on welfare funds for advocates, to provide security, access to mental health services, set penalties for acts of violence against lawyers, and ensure access to medical treatment at government hospitals.

Usman, however, underlines that this Act fails to address the daily challenges women lawyers face and their specific welfare needs.

“This act makes no reference to the provision of daycare or parental leave as part of what ‘welfare’ should mean. It defines welfare in very economic terms, along the lines of becoming a legal advisor to companies, etc.,” she emphasizes.

Likewise, laws against workplace harassment are poorly enforced within law firms and courts. Issues like separate entry and exit gates for women on the day of voting in bar elections, and inadequate or unclean toilets for women, make legal practice very challenging.

“These issues lead teachers and parents to discourage their female students and daughters from pursuing legal careers. This lack of representation will continue to limit women’s presence in the judiciary and as prosecutors, preventing them from enriching the legal system and improving access to justice,” says Nida.

“It’s not just about women in bar councils; it’s about democracy and justice for all.”

'Historic' firsts bring little change

The past few years have seen the historic appointments of Justices Ayesha Malik and Musarrat Hilali to the Supreme Court, yet women's numbers in bar councils remained largely unchanged.

A report by the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP) in 2024 underlines that out of 3,142 judges and judicial officers, only 572 are women (18%). The higher judiciary, which includes the Supreme Court, Federal Shariat Court, and five High Courts, has only seven of 126 judges as women (5.5%). At the district level, women hold 19 percent of positions, while among 230,879 registered lawyers, only about 40,000 (17%) are female. In prosecution, women make up just 15 percent of officers.

Also Read: Why do we need more women in law?

Between 2020 and 2025, only two percent of Bar Council members were women, according to Women in Law. In 2021, only four female members out of 205 represented bar councils across all provinces.

A case in point highlighting how procedural gaps often trump fair competition is that of Rushda Lodhi. In 2020, the lawyer entered the Punjab Bar Council not through election but after the disqualification of her male counterpart, underscoring how women’s inclusion in major institutions often depends on such circumstances rather than equitable opportunities.

During her tenure, Lodhi and her ally Ahmad Qayyum proposed creating a women’s vice president seat in all bar associations. While the proposal was initially approved, strong backlash from male lawyers forced its withdrawal.

Then, in 2023, Sabahat Rizvi and Rabbiya Bajwa made history as the first women elected secretary and vice president of the Lahore High Court Bar Association in 76 years of Pakistan’s history.

But now again, in 2025, the fight for women in law remains as difficult as it has always been.

Saadia Noreen believes that with female voters making up a significant number, around 2,400 female voters in the IBC alone, women’s representation during and after the campaign must be ensured.

“Women lack proper representation, space, and a supportive environment. Urgent calls for reforms are needed to ensure women’s voices are included in decision-making,” she adds.

 

The writer is a journalist with a focus on conflict, legal affairs, and human rights.