[JURIST] Egyptian judge and president of the judges' syndicate Yahia Ragheb Daqruri said according to a report published Saturday that women cannot serve as judges because it would be against Sharia law [CFR backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. Daqruri's statements, appearing in the Saturday edition of independent daily Al-Masri Al-Yom [media website, in Arabic], question the appropriateness of women judges deliberating "alone in a room with two or more male judges" and assert that women judges will inevitably "become pregnant at some point, and that [the judge's pregnancy] will certainly have an impact on the [judicial] prestige and on judges' public image." Daqruri, head of the Judges' Club, also implied that "giving birth can also have an impact on the cases [a female judge] is dealing with being dealt [correctly]."

Article Two of Egyptian Constitution [text, in English] states that "the principal source of legislation is the Sharia." Article Two is the result of a 1980 constitutional amendment and has been interpreted to prohibit the enactment of legislation are in fundamental contradiction with traditional interpretations of the Sharia. AFP has more.