40-year-old Raffia Arshad, has made history as the first hijab wearing judge in the United Kingdom. She was appointed a Deputy district judge in the Midlands circuit about a week ago. According to her, it was great news to learn about her recent promotion in a place like Britain.
On her new role, Arshad said she now wanted to “make sure the sound of diversity is heard loud and clear” and described her promotion as “bigger than me”. Speaking to the Metro, she said:
“It’s important for all women, not just Muslim women, but it is particularly important for Muslim women,”
Ms Arshad added that the position was something she had been “working towards for a number of years”.
She said: “I always imagined I’d be absolutely ecstatic when I found out. I was happy, but the happiness I’ve had from other people sharing this is far greater.
“I’ve had so many emails from people, men and women. It’s the ones from women that stand out, saying that they wear a hijab and they thought they wouldn’t even be able to become a barrister, let alone a judge.”
The mother of three who grew up in Yorkshire, north England, had wanted to be a lawyer since 11. She was the first in her family to go to a university. She has been practicing private law dealing with children, forced marriage, female genital mutilation and other cases involving Islamic law for the past 17 years.