The Saudi Minister of Justice, in a meeting of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce & Industry, announced that female attorneys would be restricted in their court appearances to dealing only with women and on family cases. Apparently, criminal law is outside the boundaries. Why this is to be is not stated in this Arab News article.

I suspect that the argument will include the expense and difficulty in constructing the ‘separate but equal’ facilities required by Saudi Arabia’s peculiar institutions. I suspect, too, that male attorneys don’t want the competition, especially from very intelligent women.

So yes, we see another half-step taken in social reform in the Kingdom. No great gesture yet that signals irrefutably that women are an equal part of Saudi society. Still, the half-step is better than no-step. It gives women more than they had last year, but not nearly what they deserve.

Women lawyers to handle family disputes: Al-Eissa
MD RASOOLDEEN | ARAB NEWS

RIYADH: Justice Minister Mohammed Al-Eissa said on Tuesday that women lawyers will only be allowed to appear in court to defend women and deal with family cases.

“The Ministry of Justice will allow women lawyers to only take up cases involving family disputes, including divorce and child custody, subject to the implementation of a new bill,” the minister announced at a meeting held at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI).

He explained that women lawyers will not be permitted to participate in other court proceedings.
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