A panel of academics and legal experts has claimed that there are no restrictions in Islamic Shariah preventing women from working as lawyers. The forum claims that though universities are training large number of women to practice the profession their career path is barred by the Ministry of Justice. “Saudi women who have studied Shariah and legal systems are qualified to practice the profession if they adhere to the traditions and customs of Saudi conservative society,” the panel said, according to a report in Al-Madina Arabic newspaper. Saudi women lawyers suffer from problems such as the commonly held view that they aren't trained to practice the profession and defend others' rights. There are no special rooms for them in courts and they are not allowed into the Bureau of Control and Investigation (BCI) or the Prosecution and Investigation Bureau (PIB). The panel urged the Ministry of Justice to solve these problems and allow women the right to practice advocacy in accordance with the country's rules derived from the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Saeed Al-Asmari, a lawyer and a former judge at the General Court in Jeddah said there is nothing wrong if women lawyers take women's cases as long as they don't open an office to practice the profession which is a debatable issue in Shariah. Khaled Al-Mahmadi, a lawyer, said Saudi women are qualified to take up the job but they must have a degree in Shariah and there should be a clear mechanism governing their work in the field. Before practicing the profession they first take jobs such as advisors and receive training in lawyers' offices in the women's sections,” he suggested. Sheikh Muhammad Mardad, a judge at the Appeal Court in Makkah, supported women lawyers saying the job of an advocate ensures a bright future for them because there are lot of important women's issues that can be better raised by women lawyers than men. Dr. Hussein Al-Shareef, Supervisor General of the National Society for Human Rights in Makkah region, says the difference between women and men lawyers is just an administrative one. “Women are competent enough to practice the profession,” he said.
