A hijab-wearing lawyer has been appointed to the Queen's Counsel, the first criminal barrister to do so.
Sultana Tafadar QC, of No5 Barristers' Chambers in London, celebrated taking silk at a ceremony at the Palace of Westminster.
She used to be asked if she was the interpreter while at court when she started, but now she has joined an elite group of lawyers.
The Luton-born lawyer with Bangladeshi roots hopes her success will provide inspiration and confidence for other female lawyers from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.
'It's a surreal experience,' said Ms Tafadar.
'I'm absolutely delighted, especially as the first hijab-wearing barrister to have been admitted at the criminal bar.'
'Representation is really important', she said, adding that it can hopefully help the dreams of other young hijab-wearing women 'become a reality'.
Sultana Tafadar QC (pictured outside the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey) has become the first criminal barrister who wears a hijab to be appointed to the Queen's Counsel
Sultana Tafadar QC (pictured outside the Royal Courts of Justice) also became the first hijab-wearing woman to become a criminal barrister after being called to the bar in 2005
Early in her career Ms Tafadar said she would think 'Oh, goodness, I don't see anybody like myself in the upper strata of the profession'.
She didn't see very many women wearing hijab around the courts and wondered if she could make it.
She added: 'So, I hope the fact that I have shows that it is possible, and I hope it opens the floodgates for others to come forward.'
A report from the General Council of the Bar into race found that, before Ms Tafadar's appointment, only 31 women black, Asian or mixed ethnic heritage women out of roughly 2,000 had become a QC.
'When you whittle it down again, in terms of hijab-wearing
