Hamida Zakariya Esma'il was the first female judge in

South Yemen South Yemen, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, abbreviated to Democratic Yemen, was a country in South Arabia that existed in what is now southeast Yemen from 1967 until Yemeni unification, its unification with the Yemen A ...

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

, and the Arab World.

Education and career

Zakariya had a law degree from

Cairo University Cairo University () is Egypt's premier public university. Its main campus is in Giza, immediately across the Nile from Cairo. It was founded on 21 December 1908;"Brief history and development of Cairo University." Cairo University Faculty of En ...

and in 1970 worked at the South Yemen Ministry of Justice as a legal councilor. In 1971, at the age of 27, Zakaria was appointed as a judge at the Court of

Assizes The assizes (), or courts of assize, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...

, in

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

. Her appointment made her the first woman judge in the Arab world.

Personal life

Zakariya was married and was a mother. She died prior to 2015.Augustin, A. A. (2021). South Yemen's Independence Struggle: Generations of Resistance. Egypt: American University in Cairo Press.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zakariya, Hamida 1940s births Yemeni judges Cairo University alumni People from Aden Women judges 20th-century Yemeni women 20th-century Yemeni lawyers Year of death uncertain South Yemeni people

Education and career

Personal life

See also

References