It has been one year since there was a mass swearing in of 30 female judges in Egypt. Prior to that Egypt had a single female Judge, Tahani El-Gebali, who was appointed in 2003 to the Supreme Constitutional Court by presidential decree. It is not as if Egypt had a law which prohibited the appointment of a female judge neither was there any identifiable block in Egyptian jurisprudence. According to the legal opinion written after a 1949 lawsuit filed by a woman against her own rejection,"the problem ...was purely societal."
Apparently one reason cited for objecting to female judges had to do with the fact that the job of judging requires judges to confer privately for hours behind closed doors. So it is not as if there was any discrimination aganist these women on the basis that they weren't intelligent enough to understand how judges think
. They just didn't want them hanging out with the guy judges alone.
When these ladies were appointed last year, one judge was of the opinion that there would be problems because in the Islamic shari'a the testimony of a single man is equal to that of two women. I never knew this, but I'm trying to figure out if the opinion of a brother judge has twice the weight of a female judge.
Still on their one year anniversary there are no reports of catastrophe, emotional outbursts or conflicts mired in religion. Indeed Ghada Abdel-Nasser, head of South Cairo Court of First Instance claims that her male colleagues have become rather supportive and accepting of them and as a matter of fact some of the Islamist acitivists who objected to the initial appointment are now strong advocates.
Well if the judges are expected to complete between 300 to 600 cases per year who wouldn't support them and I bet they're carrying more than their share of the load too.
Esoteric Legal Phrase:
Sub judice - Before the judge or court or under judicial consideration
Apparently one reason cited for objecting to female judges had to do with the fact that the job of judging requires judges to confer privately for hours behind closed doors. So it is not as if there was any discrimination aganist these women on the basis that they weren't intelligent enough to understand how judges think
. They just didn't want them hanging out with the guy judges alone.When these ladies were appointed last year, one judge was of the opinion that there would be problems because in the Islamic shari'a the testimony of a single man is equal to that of two women. I never knew this, but I'm trying to figure out if the opinion of a brother judge has twice the weight of a female judge.
Still on their one year anniversary there are no reports of catastrophe, emotional outbursts or conflicts mired in religion. Indeed Ghada Abdel-Nasser, head of South Cairo Court of First Instance claims that her male colleagues have become rather supportive and accepting of them and as a matter of fact some of the Islamist acitivists who objected to the initial appointment are now strong advocates.
Well if the judges are expected to complete between 300 to 600 cases per year who wouldn't support them and I bet they're carrying more than their share of the load too.
Esoteric Legal Phrase:
Sub judice - Before the judge or court or under judicial consideration
2 comments:
Female judges in Egypt? Aw, come on, Dee, that's a stretch. Do you mean to say there is universal interest in this subject? What law do they practice? Is it the Wahabbi way of Saudi Arabia, or the more Westernized version, ala Lebanon? It's hard to believe the Islamists would even accept a woman jurist--even a lawyer to argue before their courts.
With your legal writing talent, I still say, you should come home to the good old U.S. of A. You'd probably make yourself a mint in this country.
Oops too late Jack. Didn't you hear? Clients in the US can't afford those high legal fees any more. The whole billable hour strategy is backfiring. You guys are outsourcing now.
Oh yes you are buttressing India's economy while yours is slowly sinking. The legal profession in the US is somewhat shaky now Jack and the employers need to get the message that they need to restructure FAST!
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