President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih appointed two additional Judges to the Supreme Court Bench on Wednesday, marking the first instance for women judges to be appointed at the apex court.
In an unprecedented move, President Solih presented letters of appointment to Dr Azmiralda Zahir and Aisha Shujune Muhammad, at a ceremony held at the President's Office.
Congratulations Justice Dr Azmiralda Zahir and Justice Uz Shujune Mohamed @ShujuneM on your appointment to the Supreme Court of the Maldives! Thank you President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih for keeping your word on ensuring the worth of our distinguished women in nation building. pic.twitter.com/iMXRmx7qeC
— Abdulla Shahid 🎈 (@abdulla_shahid) September 4, 2019
Chief Justice Dr Ahmed Abdulla Didi administered the oath.
Judge Azmiralda is the only female judge to ever sit on the High Court bench and one of the only two PhD holders that served as a judge in the country. Judge Shujune recently resigned as a member of the recently formulated Bar Council and was one of the first female judges appointed. The two resigned from their former positions as judges in 2016 and 2015 respectively.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih nominated the two women for the positions after an amendment to the Judicature Act on July 23, 2019 increased the number of judges presiding on the apex court bench from five to seven.
The decision sparked some controversy as Maldives' highest authority on issuing 'fatwa', nonbinding legal opinions on points of Islamic law, stated that the appointer of a female judge would be sinful along with the woman appointed.
However, several credible Islamic scholars have disputed the matter.
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