Ongoing debate: Are Kuwaiti women capable of being judges and is Kuwait ready to embrace them?

With the right to vote safely under Kuwaiti women's belts and electoral representation manifested by four female MPs, next on the agenda for many women's rights activists in Kuwait is the issue of appointing female judges. While Kuwait is not alone in the region for its exclusion of women from this position, a strong movement is underway for this issue to be at the forefront of the national women's rights movement. Those who support women becoming judges assert that the current status is unconstitutional and a qualified woman's capability is undeniable. As one enthusiastic women's rights activist claimed about this issue, "Impossible is nothing. Look at Obama becoming President of the United States." Her sense of urgency can easily be felt. She is not alone in her thinking, and as such, the matter is elevated to the highest degree of importance in the minds of many, both male and female, Kuwaitis. Those opposed, however, claim that women are too emotional, are not ready for this responsibility yet, and are not capable of handling the stress of the job. In a recent event attended by several Kuwaiti female lawyers and MP Ali Al-Rashed, the only male MP on the women's rights subcommittee in Kuwait's National Assembly, most attendees agreed on the end result: qualified women should have the right to be appointed as judges, women are necessary for certain cases especially dealing with Family Law, and there is no article in the Kuwaiti Constitution to prolong women's absence from this role. Opposition for this movement is based on various interpretations of Shari'a Law and its role in society. One university professor in this field spoke at the event and later surrendered to a few in the audience who felt that her ideas were drifting from the main focus of the event. Her opinion deserved to be heard at the least. She argued that policy makers and members of Kuwaiti society should not jump into such change so quickly and that there were other issues to consider when appointing a female judge, such the question of her ability to work late hours, an often touchy subject in this conservative society. Women in the audience rhetorically asked if the professor felt that all current appointed male judges were qualified. In response, the professor suggested that Kuwaitis review the Sunni sources of law to find an answer to this debate. By opening up the door of appointing female judges, more questions concerning a woman's role in society come into place, as she argued. However, if a woman is appointed to the position of judge, it is hoped that she would be considered for eligibility in the same manner as her male colleagues; anything less would be reverse or unfair qualification, would it not?