To object or not to object: The question of women judges in Egypt

Abstract

Developing countries where women have not been permitted into the judiciary are excluded from feminist scholarship on women and the law. Such exclusion limits comparative views to a specific cultural‐historical domain. This paper explores the case of Egypt, where women have not entered the judiciary, in an attempt to extend the cross‐cultural discussion. A premise of the paper is that a theological vision of women's gender roles, which is qualitatively different from the prevailing one in the West, is a strong influencing factor on women's access to the judiciary in Egypt. After presenting a brief overview of women's status in Islam, this paper explores perspectives on women's role as judges within Islamic Shari'a. Building on the brief exploration of Islam's views regarding women's access to the judiciary, this paper then presents contemporary debates regarding women as judges in the Egyptian case. A recommendation for a more careful examination of the theological influences on the Egyptian debate regarding women's access to the judiciary concludes the paper.