Google Doodle paid today, Monday homage to Mufidah Abdul Rahman, Egypt’s first female lawyer, on her 106th birth anniversary.
Abdul Rahman was born on January 20, 1914. She had nine children, four of whom were born during her study in Cairo University’s Faculty of Law.
Abdul Rahman’s career was defined by a series of firsts, being the first married woman to enroll at Cairo University’s Faculty of Law, and the first mother to graduate from the faculty.
She was also one of Egypt’s first female lawyers to take cases to the Court of Cassation in Egypt, the first woman to practice law in Egypt, the first woman to plead a case before a military court in Egypt, and the first to plead cases before courts in the south of Egypt.
Abdul Rahman was also the only woman to be part of the Committee for the Modification of Status Laws for Muslims, which was founded in the 1960s.
She is known for representing Doria Shafik in court, who led a march of 1500 women in February 1951 from Egypt’s two leading feminist groupings,” Bint Al-Nil” and the “Egyptian Feminist Union“.
The march interrupted the parliament for four hours, as they gathered there with a series of demands, mainly related to women’s rights.
Many Bint al-Nil supporters had attended the courtroom as the case went to trial, which the judge had adjourned the hearing indefinitely.
She had also served as a defense lawyer in famous political trials regarding a group charged with conspiring against the state.
Abdul Rahman became a member of parliament in 1959 for the districts of Ghouriya and Ezbekiya, during which she severed as an active deputy for 17 years in a row.
She had also served as a board member for many unions including, the Council of University Unions, the National Conference of the Socialist Union, the National Union and others.
Furthermore, Abdul Rahman had served as a board member of Al-Gomhouriya Bank, the Bar Association, the Postal Authority Council, as well as co-founded the Women of Islam Society, which she acted as its chairwoman for many years.
