WCAPS Congratulates First Female Appointee To Pakistani Supreme Court Justice
Washington, D.C. – Women of Color Advancing Peace and Security (WCAPS) applauds the Pakistan appointment of Justice Ayesha Malik as its first female Supreme Court judge in history. The South Asian country has a long history of men in leadership in every career and facet of the nation. Until Justice Malik was appointed to serve alongside 16 of her male counterparts, Pakistan remained the only South Asian country not to have a female Supreme Court judge. According to Human Rights Watch, “only about 4 percent of Pakistan’s High Court judges are women. Of the 3,005 Pakistani judges in the lower and higher courts, only 519 – or 17 percent – are women.” “History has been made in Pakistan this week. We congratulate Justice Ayesha Malik on her appointment to the nation’s Supreme Court,” said Shalonda Spencer, Executive Director of WCAPS. “While there is more work to be done in Pakistan and other regions of the world to ensure women have a seat at the table and our heard at every level of government, Mailk’s appointment shows us what is possible when we demand change.” Malik’s appointment represents women’s voices and young girls’ voices in the highest decision-making process of Pakistan. Women and young girls of Pakistan have faced “honor” killings, forced marriage, rape, domestic violence, limited access to education, sexual abuse in the workplace, and other atrocities due to their gender. We hope that diversifying the voices of leadership in Pakistan will promote a greater awareness of violence and injustice against women and encourage greater visibility for women and the career paths they are allowed to follow.