For the first time in the Egyptian State Council’s history, 48 female judges were sworn in as assistant delegates on Sunday, marking a significant milestone in the country’s judicial system.
It is the first time in the Council’s 77-year history that women have been granted this entry-level judicial rank through competitive appointment.
Judge Osama Youssef Shalaby, President of the State Council – one of Egypt’s highest judicial authorities – witnessed the Sunday, 7 September 2025 swearing-in ceremony of the first batch of female judges in the Council’s history.
The new batch of assistant delegates was appointed under Presidential Decree No. 447 of 2025.
The batch includes 207 members, including 48 female judges. This historic step reflects the state’s commitment to empowering women and strengthening their representation in the judiciary, in implementation of the directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
The move came as part of a presidential decree ratified on August 26, which included a total of 207 appointments from the graduating class of 2021. The newly appointed female judges will take the judicial oath in the coming days before formally assuming their roles within various departments of the State Council.
Breaking Decades of Gender Barriers
Founded in 1946, the State Council has long been one of the last bastions of male-only judicial authority in Egypt. While women have served in other branches of the judiciary since 2003, the Council had resisted integrating female judges until recent years.
The 2025 appointments follow sustained advocacy by women’s rights groups and incremental reforms that paved the way for this moment. Most notably:
- In 2021, a presidential directive mandated full access for women to all judicial positions, including the State Council and Public Prosecution.
- In 2022, 39 women were transferred into the Council’s judicial corps via exceptional routes.
- In 2024, for the first time, women were appointed to the Council’s General Secretariat and Technical Office.
Presidential Support and Political Will
The latest appointments reflect the broader political commitment to gender inclusion, particularly under President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who declared 2017 the “Year of Egyptian Women” and has repeatedly called for greater female representation in leadership.
Egypt’s Judicial Gender Reform
The Assistant Delegates will begin their service in key legal departments, including judicial review, legislation, and administrative court systems. Their duties include preparing case files, conducting legal research, and gradually taking on judicial responsibilities under the supervision of senior judges.
Their entry through the standard judicial selection process signifies not just symbolic progress, but structural transformation—ensuring that women can now advance through the judicial hierarchy on equal footing with their male counterparts. Egypt’s move adds momentum to a broader trend of judicial gender reform in the Middle East and North Africa.
Credit: Egypt Today/Top50Women.com
A long-overdue but welcome step toward gender equality in Egypt’s judiciary.