Image Credits: Wikimedia, Twitter/ Shams Ur Rehman Alavi
India
Remembering Fathima Beevi's Legacy - India's First Female Supreme Court Judge
|Hailing from Kerala, Fathima Beevi's family was her pillar of support when she moved to the big city to pursue law. Her meteoric rise from an advocate to a Supreme Court judge inspires many.
For decades, gender equality has been a distant dream for the world. Slowly and steadily, the gap is being bridged as women's participation in certain sections of society has increased and continued doing so. An example of this is the women in the legal profession. March 10 is celebrated as International Day of Women Judges to raise awareness about the importance of gender equality in the judiciary. The United Nations (UN) emphasises the significance as it will help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 5, gender equality and empowerment.
Over the years, the Indian judiciary has witnessed a rise in female judges. They have inspired young girls to follow the path and make a difference in the country's legal system. One of them is a woman from Kerala named Fathima Beevi, who became India's first female judge in the Supreme Court, paving the way for many other women to follow suit.
An Enigmatic Personality
M Fathima Beevi's ambitions took flight with her family's support. From a very young age, her parents encouraged her to take up law in the future. She moved out of her village in Kerala at a very young age to study in Thiruvananthapuram, where she became a student at the city's Government Law College. After graduating, Fathima Beevi took the Bar Exam, which she passed with flying colours. She became the first Indian woman to get the Bar Council Gold Medal in 1950.
In the same year, she began to practice the profession as an advocate in Kollam. In a male-dominated field, seeing an Indian woman practising law in the courts was a sight to behold. Come 1958, and her rise in ranks was evident. From being a 'munsif' in the Kerala Subordinate Judicial Services to becoming a judge in the Kerala High Court in 1983, her journey took an inspirational turn when she became the first Indian female judge in the Supreme Court five years later.
Fathima Beevi's road to becoming a Supreme Court judge has inspired many young women to join the profession. However, gender disparity still exists in Indian courts that need to be worked on.
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