This is a list of the first women lawyers and judges in Asia. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are the first women in their country to achieve a certain distinction such as obtaining a law degree.
Afghanistan
Hakime Mustemendi and Enise Imam: First female prosecutors in Afghanistan (c. 1960s) Jameela Farooq Rooshna: First female judge in Afghanistan (1969) Kimberley Motley (2008): First foreign female lawyer in Afghanistan Maria Bashir (1994): First female Prosecutor General in Afghanistan (2009) Rehana Popal (2013): First Afghan-born female to practice as a barrister in England and Wales Anisa Rasooli: First female to sit on the Supreme Court of Afghanistan (2018) Ghizaal Haress: First female to serve as the Ombudsman of Afghanistan (2019)
Armenia
Alvina Gyulumyan (b. 1956): First female appointed as a Judge of the Constitutional Court of Armenia (1996) and Judge of the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Armenia (2003) Eva Darbinyan: First female appointed as a Judge of the Criminal and Military Appeal Court in Armenia (c. 1999) Larisa Alaverdyan: First (female) Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) of Armenia (2004) Elizaveta Danielyan: First female to serve as a Judge of the Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation of Armenia (2009) Melania Arustamyan: First female to serve as the Head of the Public Defender's Office of the RA Chamber of Advocates (2015) Ani Mkhitaryan and Ruzanna Hakobyan: First females appointed to the Supreme Judicial Council of Armenia (2018) Lilit Tadevosyan: First female to serve as the President of the Court of Cassation of Armenia (2022) Anna Vardapetyan: First female to serve as the Prosecutor General of Armenia (2022)
Azerbaijan
Bilqeyis Haşımzadə (c. 1940s): First female lawyer in Azerbaijan Ayna Sultanova (1895-1938): First female to serve as the Prosecutor General of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (1933–1934) Sona Salmanova: First female judge in Azerbaijan (upon her becoming a Judge of the Constitutional Court of Azerbaijan in 1998), as well as the first female Deputy Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Azerbaijan (2005) Südaba Hasanova (b. 1947) (1971): First female appointed as the Chairperson of the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan (2000–2005) Saadat Rustamova and Lala Huseynova: First female district prosecutors in independent Azerbaijan (2020)
Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic)
Narine Narimanyan: First female to serve as the President of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Artsakh (2012)
Bahrain Fatima Ibrahim Al-Dalal: First female to earn a law degree in Bahrain (1970) Lulwa Al Awadhi and Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa (1979): First female lawyers in Bahrain Zahra Ahmed Khalaf: First female lawyer to enter the Board of Directors of the Bahrain Bar Association (1981) Sheikha Noura bint Abdullah Al Khalifa and Mona Jasem al-Kawari: First two women appointed as Deputy Attorneys General in Bahrain (2003) Amal Ahmed Abul: First female to serve as a public prosecutor in Bahrain (2003) Mona Jasem al-Kawari: First female judge in Bahrain (upon her appointment as a Judge of the High Civil Court of Bahrain in 2006) Sheikha Noura bint Abdullah Al Khalifa: First female to hold the position of Chief Prosecutor in Bahrain (2007) Jamila Ali Salman: First female to serve as the President of the Bahrain Bar Association (2007) Amina Issa Abdullah: First female in Bahrain to serve as a Public Prosecutor in the Juvenile Courts (2006), Chief Public Prosecutor with the rank of judge in the High Court (2009), and judicial inspector (2019) Dhouha Ibrahim al-Zayani: First female appointed as a Judge of the Constitutional Court of Bahrain (2007-2016) Fatima Faisal Hubail: First female appointed as a Judge of the Lower Civil Court of Bahrain (2008) and a member of the Supreme Judicial Council of Bahrain (2013)
Bangladesh
Salma Sobhan (1959): First Bangladesh female barrister called to the English Bar Mehrunnessa Khatun (1961): First female advocate in Bangladesh Rabia Bhuiyan (1967): First female barrister in Bangladesh Kamrun Nahar Laily (1972): First female notary in Bangladesh Nazmun Ara Sultana (1972): First female judge in Bangladesh (1975), as well as the first female District Judge (1991). She is also the first female High Court Judge (2000) and Justice of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh (2011). Rehana Khanam: First female Public Prosecutor in Bangladesh (1991) Tania Amir (1990): First female to become a member of the Bangladesh Bar Council (2012) Krishna Debnath: First Hindu female judge in Bangladesh (upon her being appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh in 2010) Samari Chakma (2013): First Chakma female lawyer admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Bangladesh (2017) Jesmin Ara: First female solicitor in Bangladesh (2018) Elinore Rema: First Bangladeshi Garo (female) lawyer in Australia (2021) Sultana Tafadar: First British-born Bangladeshi female to serve as a Queen's Counsel in Great Britain (2022)
Bhutan
Tashi Chhozom: First female judge in Bhutan, as well as the first female Justice of the Supreme Court of Bhutan (2012) Gagey Lhamu: First female to serve as a Judge of the High Court of Bhutan Pem Tshering (2014): First Bhutanese (female) member of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple in the United Kingdom. She is also the first Bhutanese (female) lawyer to practice international law. Sonam Dechen Wangchuck (Princess Ashi): First (female) to serve as President of the Jigme Singye Wangchuck School of Law (first and currently only law school in Bhutan; 2017) and President of the Bar Council of Bhutan (2017) Sonam Deki (2025): First Bhutanese (female) lawyer in Australia
Brunei
Hayati binti Mohammad Salleh (1980): First Brunei Malay woman called to the English Bar. She later became the first female to serve as a judge in Brunei (1984), Chief Magistrate, Chief Registrar/Intermediate Court Judge (1998-1991), Justice of the Supreme Court of Brunei (2001), and Attorney General of Brunei (2009). Nur ‘Azizah binti Dato Seri Paduka Haji Ahmad: First female to serve as the President of the Law Society of Brunei (2024)
Cambodia
Bùi Thị Cẩm (c. 1936): First female lawyer in Indochina [which included Cambodia and Laos] Kim Lun Khun, Thavry Neth and Thun Leapphy Muong (1995): According to the registry of the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia, they were the first female lawyers to register in October 1995. Kim Sathavy: First female magistrate in Cambodia (1982). In 2006, she became the first female appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the Kingdom of Cambodia. Sum Nipha: First female to serve as a member of the Constitutional Council of Cambodia (2004) Dame Silvia Cartwright and Katinka Lahuis: First females to serve as International Judges (Trial and Pre-Trial Chambers respectively) of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (2006) Lok Chumteav Chea Leang: First female to serve as the Attorney General of the Supreme Court of the Kingdom of Cambodia (2009) Florence Mumba: First female to serve as an International Judge (Supreme Court Chamber) of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (2010)
China
Flora Rosenberg: First female (a Frenchwoman) to practice law in China (c. 1921) Tcheng Yu-hsiu (1926): First Chinese female to earn a law degree (1925) and become a lawyer in China. She was also the first Chinese female judge (due to serving on a French concession court during the 1920s), as well as the first female president of a local court (1927; though she did not take office). Kathleen Hoahing (1927): First female solicitor in China Ma Yuan: First female to serve as the Vice President of the Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China (1985) Xian Qiuqin: First Dai female to practice as a lawyer and serve as the president of a court in China Wei Qihong (c. 1990s): First female lawyer of the Va nationality in China Patty Yuen (1992): First female lawyer of Chinese descent in the Netherlands Gu Kailai: First Chinese (female) lawyer to win a civil case in the United States (c. 1990s) Hu Kehui: First female prosecutor in China (upon becoming the Deputy Procurator-General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate in 1998) Xue Hanqin: First Chinese female appointed as a Judge of the International Court of Justice (2010) Yang Jin (1985): First female lawyer in Tibet
Hong Kong
Teo Soon Kim (1927): First female barrister in Hong Kong (admitted to practice law in Hong Kong in 1932) Patricia Loseby (1953): First female admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong Ellen Li: First female Justice of the Peace in Hong Kong (1948) Betty Searle: First female magistrate in Hong Kong (1956) Maria Ip: First female appointed as an Assistant Crown Counsel in Hong Kong (1976) Marjorie Chui: First female Chinese judge in Hong Kong (1976) Helen Lo: First female appointed as a District Judge (1986) Jacqueline Leong: First female to serve as the Chairperson of the Hong Kong Bar Association (1992) Doreen Le Pichon (United Kingdom Bar, 1969; Hong Kong Bar, 1972; New York Bar, 1987; US District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, 1991): First female appointed as a High Court Judge (1995) and subsequently as a Justice of Appeal Court of Appeal of the High Court of Hong Kong (2000) Anna Lai Yuen-kee: First female public prosecutor elevated to Senior Counsel in Hong Kong (2016) Baroness Hale (1969) and Beverley McLachlin (1969): First females appointed as Non-Permanent Judges of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (2018) Melissa Kaye Pang: First female lawyer appointed as the President of the Law Society of Hong Kong (2018) Susan Kwan:Appointment of Vice-President of the Court of Appeal of the High Court First female appointed as Vice President of the Court of Appeal of the High Court of Hong Kong (2019) Maggie Yang Mei-kei: First female to serve as the Director of Public Prosecutions for Hong Kong (2021)
Macau Amélia António: First female to practice law in Macau. She also founded the Macau Lawyers Association in 1991. Linxiao Yun (1993): First Chinese female barrister in Macau Florinda Chan and Sonia Chan: First females to serve as the Secretariat for Administration and Justice (Macau) (1999–2014 and 2014–present respectively). Sonia Chan studied law whereas Florinda Chan had a business background. Song Man Lei: First female judge in Macau (upon her appointment as a Judge of the Court of Final Appeal of Macau in 2012). In 2024, she became the first female President of the Court of Final Appeal of Macau. She was also the first female appointed as a prosecutor in Macau (1996).
Georgia
Nino Kipiani: First female lawyer in Georgia Firde Nizharadze: First female judge in Georgia (upon her appointment to the Supreme Court of Georgia in 1934). She was also the first female lawyer in Adjara. Lamara Chorgolashvili: First female appointed as a Judge of the Constitutional Court of Georgia (1996) Nana Devdarian: First female to serve as the Public Defender of Georgia (2003) Eka Tkeshelashvili (1997): First female appointed as the Prosecutor General (or Attorney General) of Georgia (2008) Nona Tsotsoria: First female in respect of Georgia to serve as a Judge of the European Court of Human Rights (2008) Nino Gvenetadze: First female appointed as the Chairperson of the Supreme Court of Georgia (2015)
Abkhazia
Nelly Eshba: First female lawyer in Abkhazia Alla Avidzba: First Abkhaz (female) judge (1975). She would later become the first female Chairperson of the Supreme Court of Abkhazia (2000). Kvitsinia Fatima Alekseevna: First female to serve as a Judge of the Arbitration Court of Abkhazia (1997)