CAIRO: Legal scholars and members of the Egyptian judiciary went head to head to debate the controversial question of whether women should be permitted to sit as judges in Egypt. The Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and Legal Profession (ACIJLP), in collaboration with the Delegation of European Commission in Egypt, hosted the discussion yesterday under the theme Women holding judiciary positions in Egypt, legislative and real obstacles. Currently, only one woman presides as a sitting judge in Egypt. Tahany El-Gabaly was elected to the Supreme Constitutional Court in 2003, making her the first female judge in Egyptian history. A veteran lawyer and member of the Union of Arab Lawyers (UAL), El-Gabaly has come to be an outspoken advocate of greater rights for women in the judiciary. While her installment was a major step, critics agree that existing taboos must be abolished before women can serve actively in the courts. There are three schools - one school says women cannot be judges at all, explained Mahmoud Mustafa, a Cairo prosecutor. Another says they can be judges in commercial and civil disputes, but not in public law. The third says they can be judges in all kinds of cases. According to the Supreme Constitutional Court, application of Article 2, a social law which explains that under shar ia - Islamic law - females are prohibited from serving as judges. Furthermore, Article 12 of the constitution states that Islamic law should be taken into consideration when interpreting the role of women in society. However, conflict arises with Article 40 of the Egyptian constitution, which says very bluntly that all citizens should be treated equally under the law, regardless of race, gender or creed. Article 2 is not specifically directed toward female judges, but rather that the principles of Islamic law are definite and we should abide by them, said Moustafa. So, when you have schools not agreeing specifically with Islamic law, then you can do whatever you want, including hire female judges. This is the big conflict. Last week, a conference held by the Egyptian Centre for Women s Rights (ECWR) addressed the marginalization of women both as candidates and judicial monitors during last month s parliamentary elections. Scholars in favor of female judges argue that women make up half of society and the court should be representative of that. Further, Egypt is considered a secular state and so the incorporation of shar ia law into matters of the court remains a polarizing issue. Concerning the constitution and the laws, we don t have a problem having women work as judges, explained Ibrahim Darwish, an attorney and expert in constitutional law. The problem is that there are inherited social problems. People believed for so long that ladies may not aspire for that post or she has physical problems. But the day will come that the lady will be a judge. The situation in the country is very complicated because the government announced its intention to appoint Tahany El-Gabaly as a judge in the constitutional court, noted Nasser Amin, director of the ACIJLP. Unfortunately, what prevents the appointments of women in judiciary positions in Egypt are courts, ministry of justice and the heads of the higher courts. They must approve any appointment of women and thus far, they fail to do so.
