First female judge in Egypt; First lady efforts on women's issues

Egypt's First Lady Suzanne Mubarak will open an information and documentation center which is one of the most up-to-date centers of its kind in Egypt.

Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak will also open a development center for women in the field of small projects which gives assistance to develop economic abilities of women.

Other projects to be opened by Mrs. Mubarak are a women's complaint office, anew hall for conferences and training and a site on the internet under the title "Women and Peace."

Mrs. Mubarak will inspect the Council's library which includes more than 3,000 titles, research papers and references.

On the other hand, Mrs. Mubarak hailed the appointment of the first female judge in Egypt as a major achievement for women.

Addressing a celebration organized Sunday on the occasion, Mrs. Mubarak, said the appointment of the first female judge crowns a long struggle for self-proving against a cultural and social heritage that has nothing to do with the Egyptian perception of women.

Some 11 Arab counties had female judges including Morocco, Algeria, Sudan, Lebanon, Tunisia, Yemen, and Jordan and Iraq and they make up to 50 percent of judges there, Mrs. Mubarak said.

On his part, Justice Minister Farouk Seif El-Nasr said President Hosni Mubarak has issued a republican decree appointing Tahanny El-Gebaly to the Supreme Constitutional Court.

He described the appointment of the first female judge as a landmark in the history of Egyptian women.