Making history: Shariat Court has its first woman judge

No discrimination between men and women: CJ Ahmed.

KARACHI:

The Federal Shariat Court appointed its first female judge in its 33-year history. 

Federal Shariat Court Chief Justice Agha Rafiq Ahmed Khan administered the oath to Ashraf Jehan, 56, in a simple ceremony held at the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday.

With this oath, the number of judges in the Shariat court now stands at seven with one seat still vacant.

Previously, Justice Jehan was an additional judge at the SHC and before that, she also served in the capacity of the district and sessions judge (East) at the City Courts in Karachi.

The ceremony was attended by the chief justice of the SHC, Justice Maqbool Baqar, other senior judges, representatives of the bar associations and a large number of the lawyers.

The Federal Shariat Court was established by the President’s order in 1980, which was later incorporated in the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973.

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,” Justice Ahmed said. The chief justice of the Shariat Court said he was pleased to comment on an historic moment. “I took the initiative as it would send the message to the world that we are enlightened people and would dispel many misconceptions,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2013.