Women encouraged to join the legal system

More women are being encouraged to join the legal profession in Jordan by a local NGO, the Jordanian National Forum for Women (JNFW). An awareness campaign aimed at encouraging women to work at different levels in the judiciary is to start soon. The legal profession is a highly male-dominated preserve in Jordan, although there are no rules in the kingdom which prevent women from working in the judicial system. According to 2006 figures from the Jordan Bar Association, out of a total number of 6,915 lawyers 1,284 are women. "Our goal is to break barriers and social misconceptions about the legal profession", said Ruba Matarneh from the JNFW. As part of the campaign, the NGO will conduct a survey on women in the legal profession to identify the main obstacles they face. The findings of the research will be published in a brochure to be distributed to law students in various universities in Jordan. The campaign will simultaneously seek to raise awareness among women, especially in rural areas, of their legal rights. "Most of those women do not know about their own rights", said Matarneh. The JNFW's initiative is being assisted financially by the USAID-funded Rule of the Law Project (MASAQ) to promote public knowledge of the judicial and legal system and rule of the law in Jordan. According to Ministry of Justice figures out of 630 judges in Jordan only 35 are women. And it was not until 1996 that a woman called Tajhreed Hikmat was appointed judge. At present, she works at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania. Zuheir Toubasi became the fifth female judge in Jordan seven years ago. It has always been clear in her mind that she wanted to work in the country's legal system, despite the difficulty of having to cope with five children and a husband who demands her constant attention. "I spent six years of my life studying law and wanted to make a living out of it no matter the difficulties," she said at her office at the Palace of Justice in Amman. After five years working as a magistrate and two more as a judge at the Court of First Instance, Zuheir Toubasi has now gained the respect of citizens, including lawyers and male judges with whom she is in contact on a daily basis. However, she said that at the beginning she found it difficult to deal with veteran male judges. "Years after, though, they ended up accepting us and having respect for our job," said Zuheir Toubasi. At the beginning of June, Toubasi was appointed to the Mediation Department at the Ministry of Justice, having to deal with civil cases - the only female judge in a department. Toubasi's case reflects the reality of a profession that in Jordan is traditionally dominated by men. A female-clerk at the Palace of Justice who requested anonymity has said that although the number of female judges in Jordan has been increasing over the years, "to find a woman presiding in a court room is still seen in the country as quite anecdotal." Most judges and lawyers in Jordan agree that family support plays a major role when a female law graduate has to decide whether to go further in her career or not. "I consider myself very lucky because my husband has a very high degree of understanding about my job as a judge," explained Zuheir Toubasi. "But sometimes families also feel nervous when they think about their daughter working as a lawyer in the outside world,",said legal consultant Reem Abu Hassan. Currently specialised in family protection, child abuse and domestic violence issues, Reem Abu Hassan also worked in the past as an independent lawyer and also as a partner within a law firm in Amman. MF/AR/AM