Egyptian female judge joins the State Council

Egyptian female judge, Radwa Helmi, was appointed for the State Council, a top court in Egypt.

The appointment follows a decision by president Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi last year to allow women to join the council, one of Egypt's main judicial bodies.

"Today is a historic day for us, for all Egyptian women and for the Egyptian judiciary in general, as the president of the State Council decided yesterday to start allowing the attendance of the new female judges appointed last year to join the council", said Reem Mousa, another female judge.

"It is a mixed feeling of pride, fear and immense responsibility that we now bear along with our colleagues", admitted judge Maha Tantawy,

The announcement was made on Saturday ahead of International Women's Day celebrated on March 8th.

For other female judges, the President's decision is a step in the right direction in the fight against social prejudice.

Judge Yasmine Helmi added that "the social debate revolving around females assuming judge positions is not related to the job itself, but rather to the social and cultural awareness in that period and people not accepting women on the judges' bench or even working within the judiciary. Yet, if we were to speak about competence and work, then there isn't any reason for women to not be a part of the council".

Women currently hold about a quarter of cabinet posts and some 168 seats in the 569-member parliament.