In a historic decision, four legal consultants have become the kingdom's first women attorneys after the Saudi Arabian Justice Ministry reportedly gave them licenses to practice law.
Bayan Zahran, Jihan Qurban, Sarra Al Omari and Ameera Quqani were given the licenses, in a move that suggests that the ban on imposed on female law graduates to practise law in the courtroom and own and operate law firms will be lifted.
According to Gulf News, the ministry's decision will have enormous impact on the local court system where women embroiled in divorce and custody cases have often complained of bias in favour of husbands.
Ameera Quqani said that having the much-anticipated certificate and licence by the ministry officials was a dream come true adding that now being an attorney; she can take up several cases and practice in a court of law.
The report said that the justice ministry had earlier decided to provide the licence to female law graduates in October last year and the initial plan was to confine it to family status cases.
However, the final decision has not put any restriction on the licences and allows women graduates to practice in all fields of law.