Justice Musarrat Hilali: Peshawar High Court gets its first-ever female chief Justice

PESHAWAR – Justice Musarrat Hilali is set to make history by becoming the first-ever woman chief justice of the Peshawar High Court next month.

A notification issued by the law ministry stated President is pleased to appoint Ms. Justice Musarrat Hilali, the most senior judge of the Peshawar High Court Peshawar, to act as Chief Justice of the said court with effect from April 1, 2023 till the appointment of a regular chief justice by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan.

Justice Musarrat is said to be the second female to hold the role of chief justice of a high court after the former chief justice of the Balochistan High Court Justice Tahira Safdar.

The 62-year-old received a law degree from Khyber Law College of the University of Peshawar and started practice in 1983; she moved to the high court after a couple of years and becomes the advocate of the top court in 2006.

Ms. Hilali also served as the female secretary of the Peshawar Bar Association in 90s and remained in other positions including vice president and the first female General Secretary of the bar.

Women in top leadership roles increase productivity and their role in society and Justice Musarrat Hilali is the perfect example of women holding top positions in conservative societies like Pakistan.

Pakistan is known to be a male-dominated nation but Pakistani women break stereotypes in achieved many firsts, especially in the legal fraternity. In January, Justice Ayesha Malik made it to Supreme Court while lawyers Sabahat Rizvi and Rabbiya Bajwa recently got top slots in Lahore High Court Bar Association.