Women judges take first cases in Shariah courts

Malaysia’s first women Islamic court judges were both up and running in their new roles this week after Shariah legal authorities empowered them with the same authority as their male colleagues, an official said.

The two female judges were appointed in May to combat perceptions that Islamic courts unfairly favour men. But one senior judge said Shariah law provisions barred the women from presiding over cases involving divorce and matters involving morality crimes, such as drinking and gambling.

However, a panel of top Malaysian Islamic judges subsequently decided the two women would have the same jurisdiction as male judges “in light of Shariah principles” to uphold justice, said Mohamad Na’im Mokhtar, an official in Malaysia’s government-run department for the Islamic judiciary.