[women-rights] Egypt: First woman judge appointed to the Supreme Court

The Arab Center for the Independence of Judiciary and the Legal Profession 
welcomes the decision to appoint a woman as judge in the Constitutional 
Supreme Court in Egypt, which consequently rectifies the wrong status as 
women were excluded from assuming any judicial position without any legal 
reason. This step is a negative one, which is considered an improvement in 
the equity status between man and woman in Egypt especially in undertaking 
public jobs.

The Arab center expresses its pleasure that Ms.Tahany AL-Gebaly undertakes 
that judicial position. Worth mentioning is that Ms. Al-Gebaly is a 
cassation lawyer and a member of the board of trustees of the Arab Center 
for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession for

This decision ensures the important role of women in participating in 
public affairs in Egypt as well as it ensures that the state adopts the 
cases of women and confirms that the Egyptian woman is not less than her 
counterparts in Libya, Tunis, Sudan, Syria, Morocco, Pakistan, and Iran.

In this regard, the center appeals to the related bodies in Egypt to adopt 
urgent measures in order to start the procedures of accepting and 
appointing women to work in the field of judiciary in Egypt. In addition, 
the Egyptian women shall undertake both normal and administrative judicial 
position.

The Arab Center suggests that women lawyers shall be selected from records 
in the Bar Association especially that the judiciary law permits appointing 
a rate of those who are recorded in the Bar Association.

The center hopes that accepting women to work in judiciary shall be in 
accordance with the international instruments and so there shall be no 
discrimination because of gender or social origin or property, and the 
appointing process of women shall be due the qualification of those who are 
applied to undertake judicial positions.

That decision complies with the Egyptian Constitution, and the judicial law 
46 / 1972, especially article 38, which does not stipulate that males are 
only permitted to hold the judiciary, also this decision complies with 
several provisions issued by the Egyptian State Council that pays important 
attention to the equity principle in assuming public jobs. Also, it affirms 
that Egypt is committed to its international obligations especially the 
Convention of preventing any forms of discrimination against the woman.

It is worth mentioning that appointing woman, as judge in Egypt required 
planning for strategies between civil society institutions and the State in 
order to maintain the heritage of the State in which the right to equality 
is one of its basic grounds.

The Arab Center calls the civil society institutions in Egypt and other 
institutions which are concerned with justice and human rights to provide 
any possible support to this cultural and social change and to expand 
especially that such that new steps normally face many troubles at the 
beginning.


For more information Contact:
Mr.Nasser Amin
Secretary General
The Arab Center for the Independence
of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession (ACIJLP)
8/10 Mathaf El-Manial ST.,
Manial El-Roda, Cairo
Egypt
Tel.:         (202) 3620732
Tel.&Fax: (202) 5310027