A new dimension in the judiciary
For the second time in the history of the country's judiciary, two female judges are conducting a division bench of the High Court in order to deliver justice to the people.
Earlier in 2007, the then Chief Justice Md Ruhul Amin had for the first time constituted a division bench of the HC comprising Justice Zinat Ara and Justice Farah Mahbub for delivering Justice.
Justice Zinat Ara, who was later elevated as a judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, has retired.
The chief justice's move in constituting the new bench has brought a new dimension to the judiciary and enhanced the dignity and image of the nation before the world, according to some Supreme Court lawyers.
The two judges are -- Justice Kashefa Hussain and Justice Fatema Najib -- whose bench is assigned to deal with the writ petitions, which are considered one of the most important cases as their contents are involved with the interest of the state and people.
Deputy Attorney General Noor ur Sadik told The Daily Star that the HC bench of the two women judges is hearing the writ petitions with utmost sincerity and competence and in a very professional manner, which is very encouraging and inspiring.
He said the bench led by Justice Kashefa Hussain started hearing the petitions on April 3 when both the Appellate and HC Divisions of the SC reopened after annual vacation.
Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique on March 31 constituted a total of 50 benches for the HC with its 78 judges, including Justice Kashefa Hussain and Justice Fatema Najib.
Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana, the first female judge of the Appellate and HC Divisions and the subordinate court in the country, told The Daily Star that constituting an HC bench of two female judges happened for the first time in the country but it should not come as a surprise.
"Women are as competent as men. They are skilled and professional and have proved themselves in every sphere of the state," she said.
Justice Nazmun Ara, now the director general of the Judicial Administration Training Institute (JATI), hoped that more female judges will be appointed to the HC as the number of existing female judges in this court is still very poor.
There are a total of seven judges for the Appellate Division and 86 judges for the HC Division and among them, the number of female judges in the Appellate Division is one and the number of female judges for the HC Division is six.
On April 2, Law Minister Anisul Huq told an event of the female judges in Dhaka that there are 544 female judges in the judicial service, which is 28 percent of the total judges of the country and this number is very encouraging and inspiring.
The law minister also mentioned that Bangabandhu in a landmark initiative in 1974 had removed all the barriers for women to participate in the judiciary. Bangabandhu then made it possible for women to take part in the judiciary through relevant competitions, the minister added.
This newspaper did not get in touch with Justice Kashefa Hussain and Justice Fatema Najib as the media is not supposed to contact sitting judges for comments.
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