Egypt: Making room on the bench

As the National Council for Women celebrates the first anniversary of the appointment of 30 women judges, Reem Leila looks back on a year in the courts...

To mark the first anniversary of the appointment of 30 women judges, the Cultural Committee of the National Council for Women (NCW) held a seminar on Sunday at which they spoke about their experiences. Headed by Gaber Asfour, the one day event was attended by Tahani El-Gebali, vice-head of the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC), and the 30 women who joined the bench at the beginning of April 2007. Their promotion came a month after President Hosni Mubarak issued a statement encouraging women to apply for posts as judges and public prosecutors.

Last year's mass swearing-in followed the 2003 appointment of El-Gebali, Egypt's first female judge, to the SCC. El-Gebali, who was subsequently promoted to the position of vice- president of the SCC, says that though women were not legally banned from appointment to the bench, the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), which hires prosecutors, had consistently refused to hire female lawyers for the prosecution service's criminal division, the branch from which most judges are selected. That situation, she says, has changed, and now the "SJC is appointing as many female prosecutors as possible".

The 30 successful applicants were chosen from 124 women on the prosecution service's staff who applied for the vacancies.

"This decision came late but it was widely welcomed," says Rasha Mahmoud, head of the North Cairo Court of First Instance. "The idea of female judges is not something new. More than 11 Islamic countries, including Tunisia, Sudan and Morocco, allow female judges. Egypt was late in following their lead but once the decision was made there was no point taking a small step when so many women are qualified for the job."

"We are not just a little bit late in allowing female judges, we are 60 years behind. And even though it seems like a huge step it is only the beginning of a much-needed process. The idea of appointing female judges is about moving forward towards improving the country's statutes and not about women's rights as many are claiming," says El-Gebali.

She recalls that when first appointed she had to prove herself among 17 male colleagues. "It only took a week for them to get used to me and accept me as the only woman amongst them."

Ghada Abdel-Nasser, head of South Cairo Court of First Instance, points out that there are still no women serving as judges at the prosecutor- general's office or on the State Council. She expects more women will win appointment in the near future though not before the next judicial year, which begins in October. The application process starts in August and women candidates are already being examined with an eye to promotion. "Dozens will be appointed," believes Abdel-Nasser.

Female administrative prosecutors can apply for appointment to the bench once they have served a minimum of seven years in office. For the Court of Appeal, though, they must have served not less then 20 years in the courts of first instance, and for the Court of Cassation must acquire an additional 10 years experience.

Hundreds of cases have already been ruled on by women judges. "Studying cases and writing reports is not an easy mission. I have issued sentences in more than 300 cases, including personal status, financial and administrative suits," says Mahmoud. "Women are the backbone of society and it's perfectly possible that they make better judges than men. We should not be prevented from becoming judges on the grounds of gender. It was only a matter of time until our male colleagues, lawyers and the public accepted the idea. Their attitude towards us became supportive in a very short time."

Abdel-Nasser, who has presided over 400 cases, says the human rights and women's associations that first welcomed their appointment remain positive. And though some male judges and Islamist activists objected to the move initially, claiming Islam does not allow women to preside over the judiciary, she says they are now among the women judges' strongest advocates.

The number of cases a judge is expected to complete in any judicial year ranges from between 300 to 600, and they receive supplementary payments according to the number he/she completes.

"We are performing as well as our male colleagues," insists Abdel-Nasser, "and I only hope more women join the judiciary system."

--Al Ahram