APARLIAMENTARY panel on Wednesday approved a proposal to amend an incumbent law to ensure that women can work as judges in the State Council, Egypt's most influential court. "Article 104 in the State Council Law has been approved for amendment. [If the proposed amendment is then approved by the People's Assembly, the phrase] ‘men of the State Council' will be changed to ‘members of the State Council'," said MP Ibtisam Habib, a member of the People's Assembly's Proposals Committee. She added that this amendment would open the door for women to be judges in the State Council. "This is a very important amendment because it simply stresses equality and parity between men and women," Habib stressed, adding that the amendment has been referred to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee for further study. It has taken street protests, governmental intervention and a Constitutional Court ruling over the past weeks to get closer to women being appointed to Egypt's State Council Court for the first time. Victory is on the horizon, but many women's rights advocates are dismayed that, after decades of struggle, it has taken such a fight and many people, including some of the nation's elite, are still against the idea of women's judges.
