Bayan Alzahran has opened the first female lawyer’s office in Saudi Arabia, Al Arabiya News Channel reported on Thursday, two months after she and three other women were granted licenses to practice the profession in the kingdom.
“Our activity is not restricted to cases involving only women. Saudi Arabia’s lawyer system treats men and women equally and a lawyer has the right to represent men and women,” Alzahran told Al Arabiya News Channel.
“My office currently has taken several cases involving both individuals and companies,” she said.
“This step came thanks to the support of King Abdullah and we as lawyers and women of this country constantly seek to develop ourselves in what’s good for Saudi women,” she added.
‘Beautiful’ Step
Alzahran described the social reaction to her move to open an office as “beautiful.”
“I received hundreds of congratulations on my Twitter page. All the reactions have been positive since we received the licenses on Oct. 6,” she said.
“There is also an approval inside courts, on the part of judges and employees,” she added.
In a previous interview with Al Arabiya News Channel, Alzahran said: “The license is one of our rights and we did not get it until the systemic conditions were applied as set in Article 3 of the legal system.”
She pointed out that a license will enable female lawyers to be recognized in the registrar of practicing lawyers.
Alzahran obtained the license after demanding stages and training for three years as a consultant in one of the legal accredited and certified institutions.
She firstly began working around domestic violence and then headed to the issues of financial and criminal prisoners.
This article first appeared on the Al Arabiya website: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/01/03/First-female-lawyer-s-office-opens-in-Saudi-Arabia.html
