The debate about appointing women judges is raging not only in Egypt, but also in a number of other Arab countries. The Cairo-based Arab Women's Association (AWA) discussed this issue at its third conference, with the participation of five Egyptian female judges and eight female judges from other Arab countries. “In 1998, at its first conference, the Associations was the first body to draw attention to the fact that the Egyptian women were deprived of being judges, while eleven other Arab countries granted women this right,” Fatma Khafagi, a member, told the conference. It was after that first conference that the AWA decided to launch a campaign to support women wishing to become judges, she told the gathering hosted by the Arab League. The second conference, entitled “Arab Women: Years in the Field of Judgement”, witnessed the participation of five female judges from Egypt. During the conference, the Egyptian delegation, headed by Suzanne Abdel-Rahman, a senior Court of Appeal judge, said that the criteria in Egypt for selecting women were tough. ”My female colleagues and I had to pass a difficult law exam, consisting of 40 questions, as well as oral exams in the presence of the Minister of Justice,” she said, adding that it wasn't until 2007 that women judges were allowed to sit on the benches of courts other than the Family Court. Judge Ranya Sanaa el-Mulk of the North Cairo Court said that it's not easy for women to become judges in Egypt, especially in the Administrative Prosecution and State Council. She said that it had taken so long for women to become judges in Egypt, because of the culture and the mistaken idea that women are not qualified to work as judges. However, Dar el-Iftaa (the highest Egyptian Islamic institution responsible for passing religious edicts) says that having women judges doesn't contradict Islamic Law. Judge Sara Adli noted that the Ministry of Justice gave female judges the opportunity of travelling to many countries, such as the US and Italy, in order to learn from their counterparts there. Tunisia, considered to be the Arab leader when it comes to gender equality, appointed its first female Court of Appeal judge two years ago, while 27 per cent of Tunisia's judges are now women. Judge Gamila el-Gezeiri noted that 547 of Tunisia's 1,843 judges were women, working in different fields. Zalfa Al-Hassan, a Lebanese judge, has said that 60 per cent of her country's judges are women, adding that women judges can often relate better to other women then men can, especially in discussing sensitive personal issues. She has stressed that women judges are more effective than men in the family courts and personal status cases. They are also good at dealing with delinquents. The first Arab country to appoint women judges was Morocco, in 1961, and they have held the most senior judicial posts in this Northwest African nation. In Morocco, 612 or 22 per cent of the country's 3,157 judges are women.
