Justice Ayesha Malik is set to be the first female Supreme Court Justice of Pakistan. Outgoing Chief Justice of Pakistan Mushir Alam recommended Malik’s name to be elevated in the Supreme Court. Alam is set to retire on August 17.
Malik is currently at the Lahore High Court and ranks four on the seniority list. Lawyer groups are, however, against appointing Malik to the Supreme Court out of turn in terms of seniority.
Malik is known for passing the landmark ruling declaring two-finger and hymen tests on survivors of sexual assault as illegal and against the Constitution of Pakistan.
Malik, who did her schooling in New York and Paris, studied law at the Pakistan College of Law in Lahore and got a master's degree from the prestigious Harvard Law School in London. Malik, in March 2012 became a justice in the Lahore High Court and, in 2019, became the president of the Committee for Protection of Women Judges in Lahore. If Malik is appointed, she will remain SC judge till 2031.
It is the same year lawyers in district courts formed the panel against violent behaviour towards female judges.
