Ordering lady lawyers not to wear veils in courtrooms, Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Tariq Pervaiz Khan, in a landmark observation, said, "You (women lawyers) are professionals. You should be dressed as requisite for the lawyers.
"We (the judges) cannot identify women lawyers wearing veils and doubt that veiled lawyers appear in court several times seeking adjournments for other lawyers' cases," Justice Pervaiz has been quoted by the Daily Times as telling a veiled lawyer Raees Anjum, who was seeking adjournment of a case.
The court could barely hear Anjum's name when she was asked to make her presence for a case she was seeking an adjournment for. Anjum had to repeat her name several times because of her veil and this led to the Chief Justice's observation that women lawyers should not wear veils to courtrooms.
"I was embarrassed when the Chief Justice asked me not to wear a veil in the courtroom," Anjum told the Daily Times reacting to the judge's comments.
"I feel more confident in my hijab (veil). I am a progressive Muslim woman who has the courage to follow her faith while living and working in this conservative society.
"Hijab reflects a woman's modesty," she said, adding that several women judges in the NWFP and all MMA women MPAs wear veils.
