The CJP emphasizes on the need for women to maintain their individuality while conducting the court proceedings.
LAHORE: (Urdu Point/ Pakistan Point News-Dec 1st, 2019) ChiefJustice of Pakistan Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa appreciated women judges for coming out of the confines of their houses to be part of the legal profession. He also congratulated Punjab Judicial academy and the Lahore High Court for organizing Women's Judges conference.
CJP Khosa emphasized on the need for women to maintain their individuality while conducting the court proceedings. He focused on the real job of the judiciary that is to dispense justice and how GBV courts facilitate this cause by providing a more sensitive environment. He put forth the initiative of the SC with Asian Development Bank to set up 116 GBV courts across districts of Pakistan. Toward the end, he advised the ‘Women of the Judiciary’ to interpret law in a manner that protects women and their interests. Concluding the Conference, PJA Director General Habib Ullah Amir thanked all the guests and the participants. Earlier, proceedings of the third day of the 3rd Punjab Women Judges’ Conference were focused on Developing the Gender Perspective through gender neutral language and a more gender responsive system. Other guests including LHC CJ Justice Sardar Muhammad Shamim Khan, Justice Mamoon Rashid Sheikh, Justice Ayesha A. Malik, and Justice Jawad Hassan and other judges also took part in the conference. Speakers for the day included, among others, Justice Ayesha A. Malik, Judge LHC, Maliha Zia, Director, Legal Aid Society, Karachi. The speakers voiced their concerns regarding the issues women have to face in the courts, the impact of stereotyping against women and the need to have a gender neutral language. In her address on adopting good practices, Justice Ayesha A. Malik stated that in order to realize the dream of having a gender balanced judiciary, we ought to review our policies to make them more gender responsive. She further emphasized that Gender Perspective should not just be restricted to Gender Based Violence (GBV) Courts, but the legal system in general and one of the tools that needs to be adopted is a gender neutral language. In her concluding remarks, she appreciated the participants for their efforts and thanked them for their presence in the conference. Justice Sardar Muhammad Shamim Khan, Chief Justice LHC, in his speech elaborated upon the purpose of the conference. He discussed the need to make courts more gender sensitive and have the women judges comprehend the nature of a gender free court. To further elaborate, he referred to equality between the two genders as explained in the Holy Quran. Lastly, he expounded upon restructuring the society in a manner so as to accord women the respect they truly deserve. The conference was reported by rapporteurs from the Pakistan College of Law.
