Saudi Arabia will allow females to practice law in a courtroom setting for the first time from next month, it was reported.
According to English language daily Arab News, women will be permitted to approach the Ministry of Justice to obtain the necessary license to practice law in the kingdom as part of broader regulatory changes to how legal professionals operate.
The change comes following the submission by the ministry of new statutes governing female involvement in the legal profession to Saudi’s Council of Ministers, which oversees the implementation of new legislation.
A source at the Saudi Human Rights Commission told the newspaper that the new regulations do not differentiate between male and female practitioners of the law. The changes are expected to be implemented following next week’s Eid al-Adha break.
Arab News reported that the Ministry of Justice had initially proposed to the Council of Ministers that female lawyers should only serve female clients, work from a separate office and not present cases directly to court.
“The [Council of Ministers’] experts’ committee, on the other hand, discarded any distinction between lawyers on the basis of gender and decided to implement the same regulation to all,” the source told Arab News.
Under the new regulations, female lawyers will be able to serve both male and female clients, and will face the same penal measures as men for breaking professional rules.
“The primary condition to obtain a lawyer’s license, for men or women, is to have a degree in the Shariah, other legal specialisations or legal systems, or a diploma in legal studies issued by the Institute of Management after a university degree,” the source added.
Saudi Arabia, the most populous country in the Gulf, enforces strict segregation of males and females throughout many aspects of day-to-day life.
Women are prohibited from driving and must obtain their husband or another male guardian’s permission to take employment or travel.
Last year, King Abullah said that women would be permitted to vote and stand in municipal elections from 2015, while in September 2012 it was announced that 30 seats in the consultative Shoura Council would be reserved for females.
According to a recent report from Oxford Strategic Consulting, around 385,000 educated Saudi women are currently unemployed.
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