Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman, who made international headlines at the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference (COP27), and Justice Ayesha Malik, the country’s first female Supreme Court justice, has been named to Forbes’ list of Asia’s 50 over 50.
Forbes profiled 50 Asian-Pacific women over 50 who are making a difference in their fields and inspiring the region’s youth. According to the outlet, these women are demonstrating that success can occur at any age in fields such as technology, medicine, art, politics, and others. This list was created in collaboration with Mika Brzezinski and Know Your Value.
Senator Rehman, 62, gained international attention when she represented Pakistan at the climate summit, where she proposed a new agreement to transfer funds from wealthy nations to developing nations affected by natural disasters caused by climate change. Senator Rehman, a former journalist, communication minister, and Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States, became the Senate’s first female Leader of the Opposition in 2018. She was appointed minister of climate change in Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet in April 2022. Rehman has received numerous honours, including Pakistan’s highest civil award, the Nishan-e-Imtiaz. She also co-wrote Five Hundred Years of the Kashmiri Shawl, which was published in 2006 and earned her the R. L. Shep Textiles Book Award from the Textile Society of America. The minister was also named one of the Financial Times’ 25 Most Influential Women in 2022.
Ayesha Malik, who at the age of 56 became the country’s first female Supreme Court justice, also represented Pakistan on the list. Justice Malik was a judge at the Lahore High Court for ten years before being elevated to the country’s highest court. She rendered decisions on the recognition of foreign arbitration in Pakistan and was a member of the Green Bench, which promoted environmental justice. In 2021, Justice Malik announced a landmark decision prohibiting virginity tests in rape cases. She has served on the boards of the Punjab Judicial Academy and the Judicial Officers Female Supervisory Committee.
