Global General

Qatar mulls appointing first woman judge

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-03-11 20:31

DOHA - Gas-rich Qatar has mulled over nominating the first woman judge in the country's history, local daily Gulf Times reported Thursday.

There was a government plan to appoint the country's first woman judge soon, Fahad al-Mohamedi, deputy director of the Legal Affairs Department at the National Human Rights Committee was quoted as saying.

He said that was part of the commitment of the country's leadership to uplift the roles of women.

But he did not detail the proposal, which if realized would be a landmark event for women in Qatar and other Gulf Arab states at large.

Qatar is the world's largest LNG (liquified natural gas) exporter and its economy outperformed other countries in the Gulf region last year.

Women in the Gulf countries have seen their rights in limited improvement in recent years.

In 2009, four female lawmakers were elected to the Kuwaiti parliament, four years after the emirate's women were granted the right to vote and run for office.

However, women in Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil- exporter, are still banned from driving.