Woman wisdom in Egyptian judiciary

"The Egyptian judiciary has appointed women judges for the first time in its history," the head of Egypt's Supreme Judicial Council said today.

Thirty-one women were chosen from members of the administrative bar and government lawyers.

In 2003 a woman, Tahani el Gebali, was appointed to the supreme constitutional court but no woman was ever named a prosecutor or court judge.

Though Egypt was the first Arab country to give women the franchise in 1956, the judiciary has remained male-dominated. Women judges have not faced legal obstacles but cultural resistance from both genders.

Commenting on the recent appointments, a male judge said that they were against Shari'ah laws as the women judges would have to spend time alone with their male counterparts during deliberation.

Neither of the news articles quoted have responsibly talked to a sheikh or jurist on the Islamic permissibility of female judges. They have not noted that a male judge's opinion does not represent the laws of shari'ah.