Only 5.5% of superior court judges are women, and salary inequalities are still pushing female lawyers further down in the polls.
Lawyer Saadia Noreen has entered the fray for the upcoming Islamabad Bar Council (IBC) elections for the first time after meeting the eligibility criteria.
Although some senior lawyers supported her, recognizing her experience and credibility, she faced backlash from many others. Detractors questioned her experience and pointed out that no other women were running in these major elections, nor were they needed in this male-dominated campaign.
Noreen claims many of her suitors have held large campaign dinners and rallies, although this is against Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) rules. This open violation made it more difficult for her to maintain strong momentum during her campaign. Not only was such extravagance against the rules, but she also could not afford to organize such events due to major financial constraints.
“Women lawyers earn 10 to 30 percent less than men for the same work. Pay inequality remains widespread and must be addressed. More female mentors and leaders are needed, as gender equality helps make male-dominated workplaces and professions safer and healthier,” Noreen explained.
Although she met all campaign requirements, she received little support from her community and ultimately decided to withdraw from the election.
Reduced to a minority
The next elections to the Bar Council of Pakistan were held earlier this month.
Members of the legal community are elected for a five-year term to the Provincial and Islamabad Bar Councils of Pakistan to ensure fair and efficient justice and protect the rights and interests of practicing lawyers. However, the process remains marred by gender inequalities.
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A report from Women in Law Initiative Pakistan, The state of women’s representation as candidates in the 2025-30 Bar Council electionsreveals that out of a total of 638 candidates for all Bar Councils, 614 (96%) are male and only 24 (4%) are female. The Bar Councils of Pakistan have a total of 148 seats.
This time, 313 men and 13 women contested the Punjab Bar Council, with women making up only 4 per cent of the candidates. The Sindh Bar Council shows a similar trend, with 135 men and six women (4%). The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council has 106 men and four women (also 4%), while the Balochistan Bar Council has 39 men and only one woman (2%).
The Islamabad Bar Council elections are completely devoid of female representation, with 21 male candidates and no female candidates.
Bar councils do not have reserved seats or affirmative action to ensure fair representation of women, and the aforementioned report suggests that the percentage of women ultimately elected should be even lower.
“We have seen that before each election cycle, the eligibility requirements of Section 5A of the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act continue to be amended in a way that disproportionately impacts women and young lawyers,” says Nida Usman, lawyer and founder of Women in Law Initiative Pakistan.
Section 5A of the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act lays down the criteria for candidates to be eligible for election to the Provincial Bar Council and the Islamabad Bar Council, which over the years have become exclusive to female candidates and early-career lawyers who are already facing systematic hurdles in the process.
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Before 2018, applicants only needed to be on the list of lawyers and have 10 years of practice as officially registered lawyers. In 2018, the rules became stricter, with applicants required to have been registered for at least five years and have 15 years of practice. This change excluded some women from the 2020 elections.
Female lawyers say they often have fewer clients because people generally trust male lawyers more. As a result, they struggle financially, earning less than their male counterparts for the same work. This is in addition to the many obstacles they face during bar council campaigns, which require significant financial resources.
By 2025, the eligibility of applications has become stricter, with applicants required to have been on the list for at least 10 years and have 15 years of practice. They must also have handled at least 30 decided cases and be a voting member of their district’s bar association for at least five years.
“As there are ground realities in legal practice in Pakistan that women lawyers and young lawyers are not given equal opportunities to argue their cases, and also being able to show the 30 decisions in which they have handled the case independently is an example of a technical barrier that has a disproportionate impact on the eligibility of a woman and a young lawyer to contest in these elections,” explains Usman.
“Inequities continue to be reproduced as the eligibility criteria continues to shift in favor of older lawyers who typically end up being men,” she adds.
Noreen intervenes, saying that women are not taken seriously in institutional settings. “Discrimination exists even in the courts, where young female lawyers face harassment,” she says, adding that there is no conducive environment for women.
“In offices, the situation may be better, but in litigation, in courtrooms, it is much more difficult,” she says.
Why is the inclusion of women important?
The lack of decent representation of women at the bar leads to their exclusion from spaces where major legislative and political decisions are made.
Two years ago, the Lawyers Welfare and Protection Act, 2023 was enacted to ensure the welfare and legal protection of lawyers. It includes regulations and rules aimed at protecting lawyers from violence, intimidation and harassment while on duty in court. The law also includes a chapter on social funds for lawyers, to ensure security, access to mental health services, set penalties for acts of violence against lawyers and guarantee access to medical care in public hospitals.
Usman emphasizes, however, that this law fails to respond to the daily challenges that women lawyers face nor to their specific needs in terms of social protection.
“This law makes no reference to the provision of childcare or parental leave within the framework of what the term “social assistance” should be. It defines social protection in very economic terms, in the sense of becoming legal advisor to companies, etc.,” she emphasizes.
Similarly, laws against workplace harassment are poorly enforced in law firms and courts. Issues such as separate entry and exit doors for women on voting day in bar associations, and inadequate or dirty toilets for women, make legal practice very difficult.
“These issues lead teachers and parents to discourage their female students and daughters from pursuing legal careers. This lack of representation will continue to limit the presence of women in the justice system and as prosecutors, preventing them from enriching the legal system and improving access to justice,” says Nida.
“It’s not just about women on bar councils; it is about democracy and justice for all. »
The “historical” firsts bring few changes
Recent years have seen the historic appointments of Justices Ayesha Malik and Musarrat Hilali to the Supreme Court, but the number of women on bar councils has remained largely unchanged.
A 2024 Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP) report highlights that out of 3,142 judges and judicial officers, only 572 are women (18%). The higher judiciary, which includes the Supreme Court, the Federal Sharia Court and five high courts, has only seven women out of 126 judges (5.5%). At the district level, women occupy 19 percent of positions, while among the 230,879 registered lawyers, only about 40,000 (17 percent) are women. In prosecutions, women represent only 15 percent of police officers.
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Between 2020 and 2025, only 2% of Bar Council members were women, according to Women in Law. In 2021, only four women members out of 205 represented the bar councils of all provinces.
The example of Rushda Lodhi illustrates how procedural shortcomings often trump fair competition. In 2020, the female lawyer entered the Punjab Bar Council not by election but after the disqualification of her male counterpart, highlighting how the inclusion of women in major institutions often depends on such circumstances rather than fair opportunities.
During her tenure, Lodhi and her ally Ahmad Qayyum proposed creating a vice-presidential seat for women in all bar associations. Although the proposal was initially approved, strong backlash from male lawyers forced its withdrawal.
Then, in 2023, Sabahat Rizvi and Rabbiya Bajwa made history as the first women elected secretary and vice-president of the Lahore High Court Bar Association in Pakistan’s 76-year history.
But even today, in 2025, the fight for women in the law remains as difficult as it has always been.
Saadia Noreen believes that with a significant number of female voters, around 2,400 female voters for the IBC alone, the representation of women during and after the campaign must be ensured.
“Women lack adequate representation, space and an enabling environment. Urgent calls for reforms are needed to ensure that women’s voices are included in decision-making,” she adds.
The writer is a journalist specializing in conflicts, legal affairs and human rights.
