For the first time in Pakistan’s history, a Hindu woman named Suman Kumari has been appointed as a civil judge in Muslim-majority Pakistan. Yes, you read it right. Suman Kumari has become the first Hindu woman to be appointed as a civil judge in Pakistan.
Hailing from Qambar-Shahdadkot in Sindh province, Suman will serve in her native district. She completed her LLB from Hyderabad and did her masters in law from Karachi’s Szabist University.
“I have entered the field of law because I know that in the backward areas of Sindh poor people need a lot of advice and assistance in legal matters,” she said.
“My father and my family supported me a lot as in our community it is not easy for women to enter such fields,” she said.
She made her father proud by becoming a civil judge. Her father, Dr Pawan Kumar Bodan, wants his daughter to provide free legal assistance to the poor people specially from the Hindu community.
“Suman has opted for a challenging profession, but I am sure she will go places through hard work and honesty,” the father said.
Bodan is an eye specialist. Suman’s elder sister is a software engineer and another sister is a chartered accountant.
Suman is said to be a huge fan of singers Lata Mangeshkar and Atif Aslam. She said it was important for the Hindu community to realise that they needed to educate their children and put them in responsible positions.
This is not the first time that a person from the Hindu community has been appointed as a judge. The first judge from the Hindu community was Justice Rana Bhagwandas, who served as the acting chief justice of Pakistan for brief periods between 2005 and 2007.
Hinduism is the second largest religion in Pakistan after Islam. Pakistan has over 20 crores population, out of which around 3.4 million people belong to the Hindu community and the majority of which are Dalits or people of Scheduled Castes.
Last year, Hindu woman Mahesh Kumar Malani became the first non-Muslim to be elected on a general seat in the National Assembly while a Thari woman, Krishna Kumari, was also elected in Pakistan’s Senate elections.
Both these Hindu women were given tickets by the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party in Sindh province.
