ISLAMABAD – Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi has stated that girls are central to the energy and progress of Pakistan and, regardless of quite a few challenges, they proceed to contribute throughout each sphere of financial, social and civic life with resilience and willpower.
In his message on the event of Worldwide Ladies’s Day on Sunday, the chief justice stated girls’s management and imaginative and prescient proceed to form each the current and the way forward for the nation.
He stated that the day was not solely meant to recognise the contributions of girls but in addition to reaffirm the constitutional dedication to making sure dignity, justice and a secure surroundings for ladies throughout Pakistan. Justice Afridi famous that the Structure of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ensures equality earlier than the legislation and prohibits discrimination on the idea of gender.
“These ensures usually are not merely aspirational; they’re binding constitutional obligations that require all public establishments — significantly the courts as custodians of the Structure — to actively shield girls and make sure the sensible enforcement of their rights,” he stated.
Nevertheless, he acknowledged that regardless of these constitutional protections, many ladies in Pakistan nonetheless face vital obstacles when searching for justice.
He identified that deeply entrenched social norms, together with sure gaps in authorized processes, typically make the justice system intimidating and troublesome to entry for ladies. In lots of instances, girls face bias, insufficient institutional help, and concern of social stigma or retaliation.
“These limitations are significantly extreme for ladies in rural, marginalised and economically deprived communities, for whom the justice system can typically seem distant and complicated,” he stated.
The chief justice stated the judiciary totally recognises these challenges and bears the accountability of making certain that equality earlier than the legislation is just not merely theoretical however tangible, enabling each lady to method the justice system with dignity and confidence.
Justice Afridi stated the judiciary has taken a number of affirmative steps over time to strengthen the safety of girls’s rights and enhance their entry to justice.
He highlighted efforts to advertise gender-sensitive adjudication via judicial training and sensitisation programmes.
On the identical time, the Regulation and Justice Fee of Pakistan continues to play an vital position in coverage reforms aimed toward reviewing legal guidelines and authorized processes that disproportionately have an effect on girls and different weak teams.
“These initiatives are aimed toward making authorized processes extra gender-responsive in order that the justice system turns into extra welcoming not just for girls but in addition for different marginalised segments of society,” he stated.
The chief justice additional stated that the Nationwide Judicial (Coverage Making) Committee (NJPMC) has positioned gender-responsive justice on the centre of the judiciary’s reform agenda for 2026–27.
In response to him, these reforms are designed to make the justice system extra accessible, responsive and supportive for ladies all through the nation.
Among the many key initiatives deliberate below the reform agenda is the institution of Ladies Facilitation Centres in courtroom complexes throughout Pakistan to supply one-window help companies to girls litigants in a secure and supportive surroundings.
The reforms additionally embrace institutionalising free authorized support and advisory companies for ladies in collaboration with bar councils, together with the introduction of a authorized advisory helpline to supply instant authorized steering and referrals to professional bono legal professionals.
Justice Afridi stated the judiciary may also strengthen mediation and household help companies inside courtroom methods to encourage amicable settlement of household disputes and scale back the emotional and monetary burden related to extended litigation.
As well as, the Regulation and Justice Fee will undertake a overview of household legal guidelines to boost their gender responsiveness and be certain that authorized frameworks replicate up to date requirements of equity, dignity and equality.
One other vital initiative will contain growing a framework for using gender-fair language within the justice sector to advertise respectful, inclusive and non-discriminatory language in judicial proceedings, authorized drafting and institutional communication.
The reform agenda additionally consists of increasing authorized consciousness and outreach programmes to enhance authorized literacy amongst girls, significantly these in rural and marginalised communities, enabling them to higher perceive and train their authorized rights.
By these initiatives, the NJPMC goals to construct a justice system that isn’t solely honest in precept but in addition accessible, humane and responsive in apply, he stated.
The chief justice added that on Worldwide Ladies’s Day the judiciary renews its pledge to create secure and respectful workplaces throughout the judicial system, promote modern options to develop entry to justice, and be certain that gender equality stays a central pillar of justice sector reforms.
“The measure of a simply society lies within the dignity, freedom and equality it affords its girls,” he stated, including that defending and advancing girls’s rights was important for the realisation of justice itself.
He concluded by saying that Worldwide Ladies’s Day ought to remind society that the true energy of the rule of legislation is measured by how successfully it protects probably the most weak and ensures equal alternative for all.
“Justice for ladies is justice for Pakistan,” he stated.
