UK’s First Hijab-Wearing Criminal Barrister to Be Appointed

British-born Bangladeshi Sultana Tafadar became the first Hijab-Wearing criminal barrister to be appointed to the Queen’s Counsel.

The Luton-born lawyer hopes that her success will give inspiration and confidence to other female lawyers from black, Asian, and minority ethnic backgrounds.

“It’s a surreal experience, especially as the first hijab-wearing barrister to have been admitted at the criminal bar,” Tafadar said.

She hopes that will help the dreams of other young hijab-wearing women “become a reality”.

Tafadar explained that her appointment to the position was not easy, indicating that the number of women appointed to that position is 575, including 34 from ethnic minorities and only two hijab-wearing women among them.

She said that at the beginning of her work as a lawyer, she was the only hijab-wearing woman in the criminal court. Silence often prevailed in the courts when she was seen.

She used to be asked if she was the interpreter or an accused in a case, and no one asked if she was the lawyer of the case before the court.

Tafadar is also leading an international initiative against the hijab ban in France.

“France wants to impose various forms of hijab bans and that amounts to sex discrimination, race discrimination, and religious discrimination,” she said.

Contributed by Israa Farhan