First Female Judge Appointed in UAE

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 000731 SIPDIS STATE FOR DRL, NEA/ARP, NEA/PI, NEA/PPD, R, ECA, L E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV SCUL KDEM KWMN KMPI AE SUBJECT: First Female Judge Appointed in UAE ¶1. Summary: On March 26, 2008, UAE President and Abu Dhabi Ruler Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan appointed the first female judge in the UAE. This landmark decision to break the gender gap in the judiciary was received matter-of-factly in the UAE, and the idea seems to have sufficient traction to suggest that more such appointments can be expected. End summary. ¶2. Kholoud Ahmad Jouaan Al-Dhaheri, appointed as a primary judge at the Abu Dhabi Judiciary Department by President Khalifa (in his capacity as Ruler of Abu Dhabi Emirate),is the first Emirati female judge in the UAE. At present, UAE federal judiciary law states that only a Muslim man is entitled to assume the position of a judge. However, according to April 1 press sources, Justice Minister Hadef bin Jouaan Al-Dhaheri said the following at the opening session of a conference on "Women and the Judiciary": "the Ministry of Justice is determined through its strategic plan to give women their opportunity in the judicial sector by amending the law to allow women to sit on the bench. This will open the judiciary door before women at the federal level, following the emirate of Abu Dhabi." The conference was organized jointly by the General Women's Union (GWU) and the Judicial Training Institute, under the patronage of Sheikha Fatima, widow of UAE founder Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. ¶3. Judge Kholoud Al-Dhaheri, who comes from a well known and respected family in the inland city of Al-Ain in Abu Dhabi emirate, happens to be the Justice Minister's niece. An Associate Professor at UAE University and a human rights activist, told Pol Specialist that Kholoud was a "very polite" student. Born in 1977, she graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Sharia and Law from UAE University in 2000, and worked in Abu Dhabi for eight years as a lawyer arguing civil, commercial, criminal, Sharia and Supreme court cases. She had been preparing to get her Master's degree in Law from UAE University. ¶4. A Legal Advisor at the Ministry of Justice told Pol Specialist there are three interpretations of Sharia regarding this issue: 1) the one voiced by the majority of Sharia scholars argues against having female judges, 2) the second is completely in favor of female judges, and 3) the third one, which UAE officials and law practitioners seem to favor, accepts female judges but with certain reservations. While women might handle all types of civil and commercial law cases, argued the Legal Advisor, criminal cases will remain an exclusively male domain. According to another judge from the Ministry of Justice, there will be other female judges in the future; he said this appointment did not stem from a mere hasty political decision, but rather as a natural solution to satisfy a need for more Emirati judges (in a judiciary with a significant number of non-nationals serving as judges). ¶5. The head of the UAE General Women's Union told Pol Section Chief and Pol Specialist on June 16 that the first female judge has faced many challenges, the most difficult of which stem from the conservative mentalities of Muslim clerics and heads of tribes, not to mention other judges, who refuse the idea of a female colleague. However, she insisted that the new appointee is doing a good job in spite of some adversity. As a further endorsement, June 18 press sources report that the Federal National Council welcomed an amendment to the judicial law to allow women to sit on the bench. ¶6. Comment: An amendment to UAE Federal Law allowing women to become federal judges is expected soon. However, total equality between male and female judges in terms of the type of cases they handle is not likely to follow immediately, not due to any perceived lack of capability on the part of female judges, but rather due to the perception that criminal cases (such as rape cases) contain embarrassing and distressful details for a woman. Full equality will be an evolutionary process. End comment. QUINN 08Cable- First Female Judge Appointed in UAE (3).doc UNCLASSIFIED