Britain’s first hijab-wearing judge vows to “to make sure the sound of diversity is heard loud and clear”

The woman who has become the very first hijab-wearing judge in the UK has stated that she wants young Muslims to know they can achieve anything they put their minds to. Raffia Arshad who is 40 says she grew up questioning if there would be “people who looked like me” in the law profession when she achieved her goal.  

Having risen through the legal ranks Ms Arshad now says she now wants “to make sure the sound of diversity is heard loud and clear. It’s definitely bigger than me, I know this is not about me. It’s important for all women, not just Muslim women, but it is particularly important for Muslim women”.

Ms Arshad went on to say “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”.  She was repeatedly warned against wearing it but said: “I decided that I was going to wear my headscarf because for me it’s so important to accept the person for who they are and if I had to become a different person to pursue my profession, it’s not something I wanted”. For the past 15 years, she has practised in private law and been involved in cases relating to forced marriage, female genital mutilation and any cases with Islamic law issues and has become the author of a leading text in Islamic Family Law. 

Raffia Arshad is delighted with her appointment and has said “The judicial office are doing their utmost to promote diversity and at the time they appointed me they didn’t know I was going to be the first hijab-wearing judge. I’ve been appointed on merit, not because I wear a hijab”.

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