After a long period of disputes, street protests, and a whole-scale government intervention, women judges can finally celebrate this week’s constitutional ruling: for the first time, women judges can join the benches of Egypt’s top administrative courts. While many see this as a success story for gender equality in the workplace, others see it as a cause for great concern. That this required a tough battle in the first place reminds many that despite women’s successful push for constitutional rights, there is still a long, arduous road ahead before these legal changes can truly become a part of the country’s widespread societal attitudes and practices.
This particular debate centered specifically on the State Council, which is the judicial body that settles legal cases against the government. It all began when twenty-five women applied to be judges on the council only to find, in February, that the body’s general assembly had voted to ban women from serving on the court. Arguments were for the most part societal. “Women are too emotional,” they claimed, or “who will take care of the family?” they argued. On online forums, there was a similar reaction with both men and women contending that women were “fragile” and not capable of making “life-changing rulings.”
But the women, disillusioned by such arguments, did not take no for an answer. Women’s groups protested at the State Council and presented their case. They proved that the women had passed all the required tests in order to become a council judge, and that were as capable as any man in the field.
The women’s protests were just enough to keep the issue alive, but they still faced major obstacles. On February 22nd, the council’s supervisory board overruled the assembly. One council chief even declared , the ban unconstitutional. Judges, outraged, actually began to call for legal action against the council chief and the overruling.
In order to obtain victory, the issue had to reach the highest echelons of the government. In mid-March, the Prime Minister brought the question to the Constitutional Court which backed the council’s supervisory body citing the statute that “all citizens are equal before the law.”
For many women, this controversy, despite its final outcome, was a disappointment. They understood it as part of a larger, long-existing problem that repeatedly arises despite constitutional reform. In fact, this years’ dispute is not so different from a battle that took place just three years ago when women were fighting for the right of be judges at all. It began in 2007, when the head of the Supreme Judicial Court gave 31 women judge or chief judge positions. Egyptian women had worked as state prosecutors for years, and had even passed the required testing to qualify as a judge, but this decision had nonetheless spurred outrage. Many of the same arguments, both religious and societal, were presented. Just like this year, it required intense campaigning and protests from women’s groups before the women actually attained their posts.
The women’s movement in Egypt is now a century old, and one cannot deny its great successes. Women have now served as government ministers, business executives, doctors, lawyers, factory workers, etc. They make up a significant portion of the workforce, and the constitution has certainly taken an important step in the move to establish greater equality in the workplace. There are also many other legal successes worth noting, including a law passed in 2000 , which allowed women to file for divorce for the first time. Previously, only men were allowed to initiate divorce. This also led to additional laws to ensure payment of child support. Earlier that same year, Egyptian women married to foreigners were given the right to pass their Egyptian citizenship to their children.
Unfortunately, the big picture is still discouraging for many. Tahany Al-Gebali, the first woman judge, explains that “Patriarchy is still very much part of our culture” and that no sector of society is immune from the perception of women as lesser citizens. Similarly, women’s groups feel that “progress for women in the work place has not soaked down in the public consciousness to create a widespread change in attitudes.”
In the end, though this particular story of the State Council evokes mixed feelings among Egyptian women, one thing is certain: both in this case, and throughout the women’s movement in Egypt, the outspokenness and steadfastness of women’s groups have been and continue to play a crucial role in exposing injustices and bringing about change. This is why governments, organizations like WCI, and citizens around the world should always look for new and effective ways to help women lead, organize, and truly have a voice in their societies.
Information on this constitutional ruling and the women’s movement were taken from an Associated Press report. You can access the full article at the following link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hkKGunkBwAkcRJJQC5duIuQjE3cwD9ETDA482
