CAIRO — The Commissioners Authority of the Supreme Administrative Court on Nov. 11 rejected an appeal to appoint female judges to the State Council. The authority stated in its decision that the council has the freedom to appoint personnel at its discretion and that its stance does not reflect discrimination against women based on non-eligibility as such. Rather, the council's stance aims to ensure its proper functioning. The authority, which reviews cases brought before the council, concluded there is no binding provision in the Egyptian Constitution requiring the appointment of women to the State Council. The authority's decision was in response to an appeal filed in early 2017 by Omnia Gadallah, who objected to the State Council's refusal to accept her application for the position of assistant delegate, which is the first step toward being appointed a judge at the council.

Namati, a legal empowerment network, describes the State Council as “an independent judicial body that is exclusively competent to adjudicate in administrative disputes, disciplinary cases and appeals, and disputes pertaining to its decisions … and review draft contracts to which the state or any public entity is a party.” The Commissioners Authority's rejection of Gadallah's appeal against the council has been forwarded to the Supreme Administrative Court, which has the final say. The court, which usually gives weight to the authority's ruling, is expected to issue the final decision Feb. 24. 

Gadallah told Al-Monitor, “I graduated with distinction from the Sharia and Law Faculty of Al-Azhar University in 2013, then I received my master’s degree in law from Ain Shams University. When I applied to the position at the State Council in 2014, they refused to accept my papers, which is unconstitutional. In September 2015, a presidential decree accepting the appointments was issued, without taking into consideration my right to apply for the job. So, I filed an appeal against the presidential decree in 2015.”

She said, “The discrimination that is happening by banning women from working as judges in the State Council is not justifiable, especially with the government's desire to thoroughly empower women, as President [Abdel Fattah] al-Sisi announced that 2017 will be the Year of Women. As long as women have the necessary skills to take on the position, there shouldn’t be a problem.” The government is supposed to be committed to empowering women as part of Egypt Vision 2030, which has, among other goals, women attaining decision-making positions.