Creation of women's sections in courts to create more job opportunitiesBy Laura Bashraheel Saudi GazetteJEDDAH – The Board of Grievances is currently implementing the decision to establish women's departments in administrative courts around the Kingdom. The decision, which was recently announced by the President of the Board of Grievances Abdul Aziz Al-Nassar, will help create jobs for law graduates, a local newspaper reported. The decision will provide administrative jobs for female law graduates under job titles such as legal researcher, lawsuits researcher, Shariah law researcher and administrative assistant. However, the decision did not include the title “lawyer” as issuing a license for women to practice law is still not permitted. Qaisar Metawea, a lawyer, said that it is definitely a positive step. “Female law graduates may work at the Administrative Court (Board of Grievances); however, this does not mean that the Ministry of Justice, which is the government body responsible for issuing licenses for lawyers, will issue licenses for them to practice law,” he explained. However, Metawea said that he hopes that the announcement of the board of grievances president will encourage the Ministry of Justice to expedite the process of issuing licenses for female law graduates to practice law. At the same time, he believes that the establishment of women's departments in courts will provide more opportunities for female law graduates and give hope to those who are still studying. “We hope that more government bodies will start providing jobs for female law graduates to work in their legal departments,” he said. Bayan Zaharan, a legal consultant who has a law degree from King Abdulaziz University (KAU), said that there are no new opportunities for law graduates to prove themselves. “There is no system for enabling law graduates to enter the job market,” she said. However, Zaharan believes that women's departments in courts is a recognition of female law graduates. “We are still looking forward to the day when women will have a role in courts equal to men,” she said, adding that they are still calling for women to be employed as lawyers. “I hope the Ministry of Justice will give us the right to practice law and provide female graduates with job opportunities.” According to Zaharan, since 2008 more than 2,000 women have graduated from KAU with degrees in law, but most of them work in fields not related to the legal profession. “When the Ministry of Higher Education established a law major for women at KAU, they did not coordinate with the ministries of social services and labor to create jobs for us,” she said. Zaharan has initiated an online campaign under the title “I'm a lawyer” to call upon authorities to give women permission to practice law. She, however, believes that the future of female lawyers is still bleak. A legal consultant in a law firm, who requested anonymity, said that she is optimistic for the future of female law graduates but skeptical about formalities. “The procedures will take a long time to be implemented,” she said. “We have to wait and see; they are giving female law graduates a step forward but the idea of practicing law needs to be accepted,” she explained, adding that any opportunity given to women will take years to be implemented. __
