Women Criminal Defense Attorneys: First Woman Lawyer Registered in Saudi Arabia
On April 8, 2013 the Justice Ministry of Saudi Arabia registered the nation’s first woman lawyer as a legal trainee. Under Saudi Arabian law a trainee lawyer must work for a lawyer who has been practicing for at least five years, for up to a three-year period, before being allowed to plead a case in court. This monumental change for women is the result of women law graduates initiating a campaign in 2011 to fight for the ability to practice. However, huge obstacles remain in the path for these women lawyers-- such as the fact that there are still judges who segregate men and women in the courtroom.
The first woman trainee is Arwa Al-Hujaili, and the fact that she was able to register marks a significant step forward for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia. Of course, it is uncertain where this first step will lead, and if women will be allowed to practice in areas such as criminal defense. Sabria Jawhar for Arab News believes it is unlikely that Saudi Arabian women lawyers will be permitted to practice in the criminal defense arena, noting that “issues include whether a woman who specializes in criminal law will be able to represent criminal defendants. The courts may adopt the Ministry of Labor’s policy that women can work as long as the job is suitable for her gender. It then may open the possibility of systemic abuses of banning women from practicing criminal law because a male-dominated oversight committee may determine that type of legal work does not suit her. Imagine the obstacles a female criminal defense lawyer will face if she represents a man accused of child molestation or a gruesome homicide. Whether she is free to defend whom she pleases has not been outlined by the government.”
I stopped in my tracks when I came upon the news that, just over a week ago, women lawyers in Saudi Arabia were granted the right to practice for the first time. And the thought that these courageous women might never share the title women criminal defense attorneys was shocking. I love practicing law in general, but being a criminal defense attorney is very much a part of who I am. If I were not permitted to practice criminal defense for whatever reason, it would be an unimaginable loss. We take for granted what women in other parts of the world are still struggling to achieve.
Clearly, women lawyers in the United States are light years ahead of our counterparts in Saudi Arabia, nonetheless we still have not reached full equality. The 2012 statistics about practicing women lawyers in the United States are troubling. What this story about Saudi Arabian women reminds me is that with our freedom comes huge responsibility. We have a responsibility to other women lawyers and to women from other parts of the world that may never have the ability to call themselves women criminal defense attorneys. When we see the obstacles that women are fighting to overcome in Saudi Arabia, the least we can do here in the US is to continue to fight for one another and for full equality.