Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi has appointed 98 women to State Council positions for the first time in the country’s history. While there are a number of women occupying judicial posts, no woman has ever been appointed as a judge at the State Council and the Public Prosecution. 

According to the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram, the decree issued on Tuesday, 5 October, 48 women will work as Assistant Counselors and 50 women will work as Deputies of the State Council, to “fully enforce the constitutional entitlement of ensuring equality and non-discrimination," an official statement said.

The State Council is a judicial body that looks at administrative disputes, disciplinary cases and appeals, and disputes pertaining to its decisions. It also reviews draft laws and decisions and contracts to which the state or a public body is a party to.

In addition to these judicial reforms, the Egyptian House of Representatives announced on Monday, 4 October the appointment of Ambassador Moushira Khattab as the new president of the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR). This decision marks the first time a woman has been selected to lead the NCHR since its establishment in 2003.

Khattab, an Egyptian politician and diplomat, is a strong activist for multiple human rights causes, amongst others human trafficking and child marriage. She advocates for the abolition of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), sexual abuse, and more. 

In 2013, Khattab ranked third among the five greatest human rights activists in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, according to the International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics. 

Alongside Khattab, 11 women have also been selected to form the 27-member NCHR committee.