By NNN-Bernama
Dubai : Women in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will soon be allowed to become federal court judges when the country’s judiciary law is amended.
Justice Minister Mohammad Nakhira Al Daheri told English daily “Gulf News” that the Ministry of Justice is amending the law to allow women to take up positions as judges and prosecutors at the federal level.
“At present, the law states that only a Muslim man is entitled to assume the position of a judge,” the newspaper quoted him as saying.
He said women are currently being trained at the Judicial Institute and will be prepared to work as judges in the courts and prosecutors in the public prosecutor’s offices across the country once the law is amended.
The minister said the move was in accordance with Syariah (Islamic law) as all laws in the UAE must be in keeping with teachings of Syariah,” the newspaper quoted him as saying.
However, no time frame was given for the move, which would make the UAE the second Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) country to allow female judges, after Bahrain.
Apart from Bahrain and the UAE, other GCC countries are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar.