Saudi Shura Council is expected to vote on Wednesday on a recommendation specifically suggesting to appoint women as judges in the personal status courts, a media report said on Tuesday. The renewed proposal comes two years after the consultative body blocked a call for appointing women as Judges in the Kingdom.
The council’s member Isa Al Gheith has tabled the latest proposal that has received backing from some colleagues, the Gulf News report said.
“The Saudi judicial system has not made judicial posts limited to males,” Latifa Al Shaalan, a female council member backing the new bid, was quoted by Saudi newspaper Okaz as saying.
“Nor is there any clear text in the Islamic Sharia banning women from being judges,” she said.
The Shura member pointed to the appointment of women as judges in several Arab countries including Kuwait and Egypt.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has adopted a series of dramatic social and economic reforms, mainly towards women, the Gulf News report said.
In 2018, women were allowed to drive cars, ending a decades-old ban in the kingdom.
Last August, Saudi women were allowed to travel without a male guard’s approval and to apply for a passport, easing long-time controls on them.
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