After 73 years, Egyptian woman appointed as judge in State Council

It seems as if the Egyptian woman was on a date with a beautiful dream lasting for decades, amid the promises of the Second Republic, women and the Egyptian society will cross from the stage of growth to the stage of launch. A few days ago, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi announced on International Women's Day, his directives to appoint a female judge in The State Council and the Public Prosecution Office.

After a delay that lasted for 73 years specifically since the State Council refused in the era of Dr. Abdel-Razek Al-Sanhoury in 1948 to appoint Aisha Rateb in the State Council, hence the State Commissioner at the Supreme Administrative Court prepared a judicial report that concluded then that it was not permissible to appoint female judges in the State Council.

But now, within ten days of the president’s directives, sincere efforts and conscious studies have been made to prove that women today are capable and ready to work in the administrative prosecution authority and the State lawsuits Authority.

Working as a lawyer, engineer, doctor, nurse, university professor, minister and governor, the Egyptian woman could prove her success in various positions. the steps are accelerating as if it is a dream as the State Council approved appointing a number of female members in the Administrative Prosecution authority and the State lawsuits Authority.

It was found that there are no provisions in the current constitution, the State Council Law, or the Judicial Authority Law that prohibit the appointment of female judges in the State Council or in the Public Prosecution Office, but only several conditions and controls have been set in place to transfer female members from the administrative prosecution office or State lawsuits Authority to the state council, the most important of these conditions is that the female member must have obtained an excellent or very good in the bachelor’s degree, two postgraduate diplomas, the member’s service file should be free of any penalties or notices, in addition to passing the personal interview before the specialized committee, and immediately the State Council issued the declaration No. 2 for the year 2021 on accepting applications for appointing female members in the positions of delegate and deputy in the State Council!

I was pleased when I noticed the enthusiasm in the statements of the leaders of the glorious Judicial Institution, such as Counselor Muhammad Mahmoud Hussam al-Din, the head of the State Council, Head of the Administrative Prosecution Authority, and Head of the State Lawsuits Authority to carry out the transfer of female members who wish to work as judges in the State Council.

We couldn’t also deny the categorical fatwa signed by the late Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Muhammad Sayed Tantawi and former Minister of Endowments, Dr. Mahmoud Hamdy Zakzouq in 2002, that there is no clear and decisive text in the Qur’an or the purified Sunnah that prevents women from assuming positions in the judiciary. This Fatwa is being implemented now amid appropriate circumstance and enthusiasm of an Egyptian president who believed in the ability and the role of Egypt's great women!

The ball is now in the woman’s court, so she has the opportunity to prove that she is able to hold this position. We hope that this will be achieved before the end of 2021, which represents a feast for the great Egyptian woman in her family and society.