Suman Kumari becomes Pakistan's first Hindu woman judge

Suman Kumari has become the first Hindu woman to be appointed as a civil judge in Muslim-majority Pakistan.

Suman, who hails from Qambar-Shahdadkot in Sindh province, will serve in her native district.

She passed her LLB examination 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 told PTI over telephone.

"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.

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, who is a fan of singers Lata Mangeshkar and Atif Aslam, 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.

Hindus make up nearly 2 per cent of Pakistan's total population and Hinduism remains the second largest religion in Pakistan after Islam.

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.