Pakistan Swears In Ayesha Malik As First Woman Supreme Court Judge

Harvard-educated Ayesha Malik has served as a high court judge in Lahore for the past two decades and has been credited with rolling back patriarchal legal mores in her Punjab province jurisdiction.

Pakistan swore in Ayesha Malik as its first female Supreme Court judge on Monday, a landmark occasion in a nation where activists say the law is often wielded against women.

Malik attended a ceremony in the capital Islamabad where she now sits on the bench alongside 16 male colleagues at Pakistan's highest court.

"It's a huge step forward," lawyer and women's rights activist Nighat Dad told AFP.

"It is history in the making for Pakistan's judiciary."