Two years after the Saudi Shura Council blocked
a call for appointing women as Judges in the Kingdom, the consultative body 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 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. (IANS)
