Patterns of Entry of Women Judges into Arab Judiciaries

Studies and data have shown that ensuring representative, gender-inclusive decision-making will help build strong institutions, and by doing so also promote, peaceful and inclusive societies (SDG 16). To achieve (representative) Justice, women have to be part of Judiciaries, especially as female judges.

In the past couple of decades, some Arab governments have started using gender quotas in their judiciaries to increase women’s representation. Others allow women to the bench only by the specific appointment through the respective judicial authority. In others – the most prominent example of this being Lebanon – the “feminization” of the Judiciary occurred in an organic way, leading to over 50 % of females in the Lebanese Judiciary.

In her research paper, Ms. Rola El-Husseini (Associate Professor at Lund University, Sweden), classifies the inclusion of women in the judiciary among Arab countries into three categories: 1) ones that have allowed women in the judicial schools and therefore increased the number of women judges organically; 2) countries that have implemented a quota for women in the judiciary; 3) and ones where only a small number of women were appointed by the executive.

The paper discusses these three patterns and their effects. Are these patterns of women’s entry into the judiciary - organically, by quota or by appointment - effective? Do they impact the number of female judges differently? And lastly, do the patterns impact the outcomes of the respective judicial practices?

In advance, to support the publication, the KAS Rule of Law Programme for the Middle East & North Africa hosted a closed workshop in Amman, Jordan, with female judges from the region that examined these questions. We're thankful for their valuable contributions and input.

In order to read more about the workshop, click here.