JEDDAH: The Administrative Court in Jeddah recently permitted five female law graduates from Dar Al-Hekma College to attend a hearing asking for women to be permitted to vote in the municipal elections. The women lawyers told Al-Hayat Arabic daily that they “couldn't believe” they were allowed to sit in on last Wednesday's hearing in which plaintiff Samar Badawi claimed the bar on women voting in council elections contravened the law. The five lawyers said that they entered the courtroom without difficulty. “We expected there to be bureaucratic red tape to stop us from going in,” they said. They also said they did not expect the case itself, involving a Saudi woman against the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, to be heard by the court and in publicly open sessions. “It was a challenge which led us to try and attend,” they said. Yasmina Hashim, one of law graduates in attendance said of plaintiff Badawi that she “does not just represent herself, but all of us”. “I believed in the case and wanted to show my support for the plaintiff and that's why I attended,” Hashim said. “These cases are not just brought for their own goals but serve in the end as legal precedents and even if they are not resolved in favor of the plaintiff they encourage others to seek justice.” She said that the Administrative Court – also known as the Board of Grievances – presented no obstacles to her presence at the hearing. “I thought they'd put some red tape before and be stricter about who was allowed to attend, but the principle of open hearings was conducted clearly, and we thank the court for that, even though the hearing lasted no longer than 10 minutes.” She said the judge asked her and her companions to leave the courtroom “for a few minutes” before recalling them inside and giving his ruling. As law graduates, Hashim said she and the others were able to witness how the lawyer presented his case succinctly and effectively in the brief time given. “It was a unique practical learning opportunity,” she said. Shahd Al-Ghamdi said she was “amazed” at being allowed to attend the hearing. “It was noticeable that the courtroom was very small and not set up for open hearings,” she told Al-Hayat. “It shows that people aren't used to going to court hearings or don't know that they can.” She said that she was also surprised at the speed with which the in absentia ruling was reached. “The defendant was not there, and the rejection of the case was done hurriedly,” she said. Saudi Gazette reported on May 20 that the case, in which Saudi woman Samar Badawi was making a claim against the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs for barring her from inclusion on the electoral register for municipal elections, was rejected on the grounds that it was “premature”. Badawi's lawyer, however, said his client would appeal when the copy of the ruling was officially issued. “The appeal will be based on the clarifications related to the refusal of the claim,” lawyer Waleed Abu Al-Khair said. “We brought the case on the grounds that the law gives all citizens the right to take part in municipal elections irrespective of gender. The stipulated conditions for running for election and voting do not state that women are barred from taking part.” As regards female lawyers working in the Kingdom, Saudi Gazette also reported in April that Ali Al-Dabyan, an adviser to the Ministry of Justice, said that licenses had been granted to female lawyers for the first time in the country. Al-Dabyan said the ministry had issued “a number of official licenses to women lawyers” and would conduct a “trial evaluation” with focus in its evaluation on “the level of acceptance for the move from Saudi society”.
