Afghanistan's parliament has reportedly refused to approve the country's first-ever female nominee for the Supreme Court in a vote.
Anisa Rasouli, a former juvenile court judge and the head of the Afghan Women Judges Association, who was the only female to be appointed to the nine-member bench, received 88 votes, nine short of the 97 required for her nomination to pass, reported Fox News.
Zahir Qadir, deputy parliament speaker who presided over the session, asked President Ashraf Ghani to suggest another nominee.
The parliament, however, approved Mohammad Yasuf Halim's nomination for the Supreme Court and Khalilullah Sediq as the governor of the central bank during the same session.
It came just days after Ghani announced his decision to appoint a woman to the prestigious post for the first time as part of his unity government's efforts to promote more women to high-profile positions.