Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — A woman lawyer's dream came true when she was granted a license to practice law, Al-Madinah newspaper reported. Jihan Qurban, a law graduate from Makkah's Umm Al-Qura University, is one of four women lawyers who obtained their law licenses. Qurban said she had always dreamed of becoming a lawyer as she has always been an advocate of justice for all. “After I graduated, me and my friends would often read stories in local newspapers on studies being carried out to determine whether or not women should be granted licenses to practice law. We logged on to the Ministry of Justice's website and reviewed the necessary requirements for becoming a lawyer and did not find any exceptions for women,” she explained. Encouraged by this, they prepared the required documents and went to the ministry headquarters in Riyadh and submitted their documents. They were met with great openness and encouragement from the ministry's employees who asked them for additional documents to fulfill the requirements. Seven months later, Qurban received her practicing license. Currently, she is working as a legal consultant for a private company and manages the training section of female law students at Dar Al-Hekma College. She plans to have her own law office after she feels confident that she can handle cases on her own. “My next step is to accompany other lawyers to court to familiarize myself with the procedures. Lawyers have to do a lot of homework, especially to update themselves on new laws or regulations,” she added.
