ISLAMABAD: Pakistani lawyer Sabahat Rizvi made history on Saturday when she became the first woman to get elected to the post of secretary of the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA).
The LHCBA is one of Pakistan’s most prominent bar associations and has over the years given the country several Supreme Court judges, attorney-generals, and advocate-generals for its most populous Punjab province. According to the LHCBA, it traces its origins to the 1880s.
Elections for key posts of the LHCBA were held on Saturday, February 25 in which a large number of lawyers participated.
According to Rizvi’s LinkedIn profile, she is an advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and is skilled in legal research, constitutional, civil, corporate, and employment laws, among others.
“Congratulations to Sabahat Rizvi for being the first woman elected as Secretary of LHCBA in what was an unprecedented victory at the Lahore High Court!” AGHS Legal Aid Cell, the law firm of deceased Pakistani lawyer Asma Jahangir, wrote on Twitter.
As per several media reports, Rizvi bagged 4,310 votes to beat her rivals.
Meanwhile, Rizvi wasn’t the only woman who won big in the LHCBA elections. Rabbiya Bajwa was also appointed the association’s vice president, according to the LHCBA. This is the second time Bajwa has been appointed for an office at the association.
“Rabbiya Bajwa was elected as finance secretary in 2006 and was the first woman to contest for the post of secretary of the Lahore High Court Bar Association, but she lost by a narrow margin,” the LHCBA said in a press statement.
According to the LHCBA, Bajwa was a prominent member of the lawyers’ movement, a popular mass protest launched against former military ruler General (retired) Pervez Musharraf, to protest against his decision to sack former chief justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry.
