Emphasising the fact that justice has nothing to do with gender, the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Asif Saeed Khosa announced that the Supreme Court of Pakistan will soon see women judges being appointed.
It is reported that the Supreme Court is taking steps to not only provide protection to women but also ensure that women become associated with the country’s court system. Recognising that women are able to do almost everything that men are capable of, the Chief Justice revealed that the apex court is going all out to encourage women to become part of the top judiciary. Their presence and intervention is indispensable in many cases where some amount of softness is necessary, especially cases that deal with women requiring bail.
In a country where about 12.2 million girls, compared to 10.6 million boys, stay out of school due to various factors including poverty, this decision is quite well timed.
While on one hand, Pakistan’s extremely patriarchal society managed to introduce reforms and enact laws to protect women, the crimes against women have hardly abated. The Women’s Protection Bill, Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, the Acid and Burn Crime Bill, the Prevention of Anti-Women Practices Act, the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act, and the Criminal Law (Amendment) (Offences in the name or pretext of Honour) Act of 2016, have all been designed for women’s protection and to check honour killings. Yet, the 2019 Women, Peace and Security Index saw Pakistan on 164th position out of 167 countries.
