The President of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), Hisan Hussain, acknowledged that the representation of female judges in the Maldives judiciary has shown notable improvement, although it still falls short of desired levels.
According to Hisan, significant improvements have been made in the judiciary since 2018.
During the discussion on women's policies at the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)'s meeting to develop its campaign manifesto, Hisan said that the judiciary was composed of few female judges in 2018 and that positive changes have occurred due to the women empowerment policy.
At the meeting, Hisan shared statistics indicating a significant gender imbalance within the judiciary. She revealed that out of the 200 active judges in 2018, only 10 were females.
Hisan emphasized that due to the collective efforts made by the government and various stakeholders to empower women, the number of female judges have increased to 26, marking a significant improvement of over 100 percent. However, she said that the number should increase further in order to achieve greater gender diversity and representation within the judiciary.
Hisan highlighted that until 2018, there were no female judges serving in either the High Court or the Supreme Court. She further mentioned the case of Dr. Azmiralda Zahir, a female judge in the High Court, who was compelled to resign from her position during that time.
"We started with zero female judges in Appeal Courts, but today they represent 42 percent in these courts," said Hisan.
“I would like to proudly say that since 2018 up until now the role of women in judicial reform has been integral,” she added.
Speaking in this regard, she noted that female judges lead the judiciary today and added that both the Judicial Administration and Judicial Academy are headed by females.
Addressing the challenges faced by women, Hisan mentioned that the judiciary is making efforts to facilitate cases related to divorce and child custody. She emphasized that women have greatly benefited from the option to participate in trials online, which has been made possible through the implementation of the judicial digitization program.
Hisan emphasized that true women empowerment will be achieved when questions about female involvement in the judiciary are no longer raised.
At the same meeting, Meedhoo MP Rozaina Adam emphasized that the current administration has made significant progress by involving and considering women's perspectives and prioritized female empowerment during the formation of the cabinet.
The MP Rozaina assured that the role of women will improve significantly in the future as well.
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