The President of the Supreme Judicial Council, Judge Dr. Faiq Zaidan, affirmed the Iraqi judiciary’s commitment to increasing the number of women judges and empowering them to assume judicial positions that match their distinguished capabilities across various specializations.
This came during his attendance at the official ceremony organized by the Iraqi Women Judges Association, under the patronage of the United Nations Mission, on the occasion of the International Day of Women Judges, held on Friday, March 10, at the Babylon Hotel.
In his speech at the ceremony, the President of the Supreme Judicial Council said: “I extend my sincere thanks to our colleagues in the Iraqi Women Judges Association for inviting us to participate in this blessed celebration of the International Day of Women Judges, which coincides with International Women’s Day and the anniversary of the establishment of the Iraqi Women Judges Association on March 8 of each year.”
He added: “On this occasion, I extend, on my own behalf and on behalf of my fellow judges in Iraq, my warmest congratulations to our fellow women judges, wishing them continued success and excellence. We reaffirm our commitment to continue our efforts to empower women judges to assume judicial positions that match their distinguished capabilities across various judicial specializations, based on our full confidence in these abilities, which have contributed to enhancing the positive image of the Iraqi judiciary.”
The President of the Council continued: “We are striving to increase the number of women judges through a well-considered plan aimed at generally increasing the number of judges in proportion to Iraq’s population, while providing all the necessary requirements for the success of women judges as they perform their duties alongside their male colleagues, in addition to involving them in all activities aimed at developing judicial and legal competencies.”
He affirmed that “this attention to women judges stems from Iraq’s historical legacy in valuing women, as Thumal Al-Qahramana assumed, in 306 AH in Baghdad, a position equivalent to that of Chief Judge.”
Judge Faiq Zaidan also pointed out that “Iraq was part of the Global Judicial Integrity Network meeting in Doha, and one of the outcomes of that meeting was the adoption by the State of Qatar of a request submitted in February 2020 to the United Nations to designate an International Day of Women Judges, which was subsequently approved, with March 10 of each year recognized as the International Day of Women Judges.”
