ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has appointed the country’s first ever Hindu female civil judge after she passed an examination for induction of judicial officers, the media reported on Tuesday.
Suman Kumari Bodani, who hails from Qambar-Shahdadkot in Sindh province, stood 54th in the merit list for the appointment of civil judge/judicial magistrate and will serve in her native district, reports Dawn news.
Kumari passed her LL.B. examination from Hyderabad and did her masters in law from Karachi’s Szabist University.
Kumari wanted to become an advocate since her childhood but fears that her community would not appreciate her decision to become a lawyer, but “I am confident my family will stand by me come what may”.
“This field is highly respectable and full of honor, where everyone can come to get justice.”
According to her father, Kumar Bodan, Suman wants to provide free legal assistance to the poor in Qambar-Shahdadkot.
“Suman has opted for a challenging profession, but I am sure she will go places through hard work and honesty,” he said.
“It is the biggest honor for me to become a role model for families in my community,” Bodani told Arab News in an interview. “Especially for those families and those girls who do not permit their girls to go further in education.”
Hindus currently make for approximately 1.85 per cent of Pakistan‘s population, according to official data.
In 2006, Ratna Bhagwandas Chawla became the first Hindu woman elected to Pakistan’s Senate.
Last year, Krishna Kumari Kohli, a Hindu woman became the first non-Muslim female to win a women reserved seat in Senate of Pakistan.
With agency inputs