KARACHI: Pakistan’s national Shariah court, which hears cases under the Islamic legislation, yesterday appointed a female judge for the first time in its 33-year history.
Ashraf Jehan, 56, who was serving as an additional judge at the high court in southern Sindh province, made history as she took the oath in Karachi.
“It was a historic oath-taking ceremony today when an able lady judge joined the Shariat Court,” Agha Rafiq Ahmed, the Chief Justice of the Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan, said.
The court was established in 1980 during the rule of military dictator Ziaul Haq as part of a sweeping Islamisation of Pakistan’s institutions. 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,” Ahmed said.
The chief justice of the Shariat Court, who rarely speaks to the media, said he was pleased to comment on an historic moment.
“I took the initiative as it would send the message in the world that we are enlightened people and would dispel many misconceptions,” he said.
Sharia judicial proceedings have significant differences with other legal traditions, including those in both common law and civil law. Sharia courts traditionally do not rely on lawyers; plaintiffs and defendants represent themselves. Trials are conducted solely by the judge, and there is no jury system. There is no pre-trial discovery process, and no cross-examination of witnesses. AFP
