Muslim women are continuing to push boundaries around the world and the latest positive news comes from the UK.

Raffia Arshad has been appointed Deputy District Judge on the Midlands circuit, making her the first hijab-wearing judge in the country.

Arshad’s new role follows a 17-year career in law and she hopes that her new position will help her further the message of diversity.

“It’s definitely bigger than me, I know this is not about me,” she told the Metro, a newspaper in the UK. “It’s important for all women, not just Muslim women, but it is particularly important for Muslim women.”

Her passion for the law started at the age of 11, but Arshad feared that her working class background and ethnicity will prevent her from following her dream.


Her long career has covered a variety of fields including including forced marriage, female genital mutilation, private law children and cases with Islamic law issues.

Along with that she has faced prejudice, and on occasion has been mistaken for a client or interpreter. “I think one of the things that holds women back is Imposter Syndrome,” she admitted. “There are many times I’ve been in a courtroom and I suddenly think: ‘Am I good enough?’”

No doubt Arshad’s new role will inspire the next generation of Muslim women to be proud of their heritage and to be proud of wearing a hijab, if they choose to so.

A poignant moment for her was back in 2001 when she was told by a family member not to wear her hijab for a scholarship interview at the Inns of Court School of Law, saying that it would impact her chances. “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,” she said.

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