JEDDAH: After years of being prohibited from appearing in court, female lawyers in 2013 achieved a significant victory in being able to practice law and argue their cases in Saudi courtrooms.
Female lawyers have the right to advocate for issues that are not only women-related, but cover a variety of cases such as commercial, personal and labor affairs.
They were not content to just obtain a license to practice law — they demanded to be included in legal committees and bodies, including the Saudi Bar Association.
On their way to realizing their rights, female lawyers had to overcome many obstacles in law offices and courtrooms to work legally and formally under the Ministry of Justice.
Some did not limit their work to the domestic sphere, undertaking studies and research on legal problems at an international level.
A research paper by lawyer Huda Omar Ba-Shmail, entitled “Investment disputes settlement within the framework of the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the Protection of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI),” was published in an American banking trade magazine.
Bayan Zahran, a Jeddah-based attorney who in January 2014 became the first Saudi woman to open a law firm, says women’s presence in courtrooms long predated the granting of licenses.
“I’ve been arguing my cases since opening my law firm officially, but even before the license we used to do the same through attorneyship,” she said.
Women have been authorized lawyers in Saudi courts for three years. They are recognized, and have rights and duties like their male counterparts based on the Saudi legal system.
Zahran said expertise dictated which cases a lawyer could argue: “As long as a lawyer, male or female, has the expertise that qualifies him or her to obtain the law license, they can argue any cases without exceptions.”
Some 90 percent of her clients are women, as women usually prefer someone who can relate to their issues, and Saudi Arabia is a conservative place where they would hesitate to talk freely with male lawyers.
Female lawyers can also get male clients who are willing to hire them. Zahran was recently hired by a group of male doctors to get their rights from a hospital they work at.
Among the obstacles female lawyers have had to deal with is society’s view of such a job for women. Some people did not accept their presence in courtrooms alongside men.
Zahran said ignoring negative feedback was the best approach: “Criticism doesn’t really mean anything to me. What I truly care about is my job, delivering justice and improving work standards in a good and humanitarian manner.”
There are neither specific regulations nor privileges that apply to female lawyers in the Saudi legal system.
Zahran says some fresh graduates have the wrong idea about the nature of their work, whereby female lawyers are treated differently than their male counterparts.
“If women keep in mind that law is all about sticking to the text, and interpreting and using it in a way that serves justice, they can defend their rights as lawyers.”
A number of female lawyers have volunteered to provide legal aid for those unable to hire lawyers in family and labor cases via a charitable initiative organized by the Takamul Investment Company in Jeddah.
The initiative involves training, employment assistance for participating lawyers, and legal services for those who cannot plead for themselves or afford to hire lawyers, says Takamul’s president, lawyer Majed Garoub.
As part of the initiative, graduates from regions throughout the Kingdom have been trained by jurists, judges, academics and members of judicial committees.
Volunteers undergo a training program to provide a thousand hours of voluntary work within five years.
Dima Talal Al-Sharif, a legal consultant at the Health, Food and Medicine Department at The Law Firm of Majed M. Garoub, said Saudi female lawyers were “the pioneers of the human rights renaissance in the Kingdom, where they have added much to the prosperity of this profession.”
Al-Sharif, who is a member of the Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA), says practicing law is not a profession or a title, but a passion and a challenge to prove oneself.
“This is what I saw and experienced through the participation of a large number of female lawyers at the Takamul initiative,” she said.
Al-Sharif expressed her wish that her colleagues get the encouragement and trust of Saudi society so they could give more.
“I wish that the voice of female lawyers in Saudi Arabia reaches greater places in the field of human rights in the Middle East and globally, not just in the Kingdom.”
Female lawyers in Saudi courts: ‘We are equal to male counterparts’
Female lawyers in Saudi courts: ‘We are equal to male counterparts’
Saudi-European talks to strengthen cooperation in environmental fields
- Saudi minister of state discussed with EU security and political officials strengthening existing work on dealing with climate change
RIYADH: Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir met with European officials on Sunday in Riyadh, Saudi Press Agency reported.
Al-Jubeir, who is also the Saudi climate envoy, held talks with Delphine Pronk, the Chair of the EU Political and Security Committee, and Luigi Di Maio, the EU Special Representative for the Gulf region.
They discussed issues surrounding climate change and the cooperation between Saudi Arabia and the EU in environmental fields, SPA added.
They discussed ways to strengthen their existing cooperation on tackling climate change and the recent development in foreign policy in Europe and the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia maintains a strong dialogue with the EU, and both parties share close views on several foreign policy issues, including the Saudi-led Arab Peace Initiative for the Middle East, which aims to create a prosperous region for all its people and end the cycle of conflict.
The EU and Saudi Arabia are also linked through trade relations, which made the EU the Kingdom's second trading partner after the volume of trade exchange between Riyadh and Brussels peaked at $80 billion in 2023.
Saudi FM arrives in Italy to attend G7 ministerial meeting
RIYADH: Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived in Italy on Sunday to participate in an expanded ministerial meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) countries in Fiuggi, Saudi Press Agency reported.
The meeting will discuss the current situation in the Middle East, SPA added.
During his stay in Fiuggi, Prince Faisal will hold a number of discussions that will address regional and international issues.
Saudi fund chief receives Tajikistan’s deputy prime minister
- Saudi Ambassador to Tajikistan Walid Al-Rashidan was among the officials in attendance
RIYADH: CEO of the Saudi Fund for Development Sultan Al-Marshad received First Deputy Prime Minister of Tajikistan Hokim Kholiqzoda and his accompanying delegation in Riyadh on Sunday.
During the meeting, the Saudi fund’s development projects were discussed, as well as ways to enhance development cooperation between both sides, the official account wrote on X.
Saudi Ambassador to Tajikistan Walid Al-Rashidan was among the officials in attendance.
Kholiqzoda’s visit included a tour of the Saudi fund’s exhibition center, which showcases the organization’s 50-year journey, including notable development projects and their impacts on the lives of beneficiaries.
World’s first International Conference on Conjoined Twins kicks off in Riyadh
- Top World Health Organization official commends Saudi Arabia’s efforts in the field
RIYADH: The inaugural International Conference on Conjoined Twins kicked off in Riyadh on Sunday.
The event unites leading medical experts, humanitarian organizations, and families from around the globe to share vital insights, discuss innovative separation techniques, and forge collaborative pathways in the pursuit of improved lives for conjoined twins.
Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar delivered a speech on behalf of King Salman celebrating the achievements of the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program, which has become a global leader in the field.
“Since 1990, 143 cases of twins from 26 countries have been reviewed by my dear colleagues, who have successfully separated a total of 61 pairs of twins to date,” he said.
Prince Faisal added that it is the only program globally specializing in separating conjoined twins, making it one of the largest humanitarian medical programs in the world.
He also highlighted a recent milestone: the UN General Assembly is considering an initiative by Saudi Arabia to designate Nov. 24 as the annual World Conjoined Twins Day.
In a video address, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, congratulated Saudi Arabia on its leadership in organizing the conference.
“I commend Saudi Arabia for its leadership in organizing this important World Conjoined Twins Day Conference,” he said.
This recognition would honor the medical and humanitarian efforts in this field and highlight the challenges faced by conjoined twins and their families.
Ghebreyesus praised the initiative as a model for global collaboration in rare and complex medical cases.
“The conference provides critical insights, from surgical innovations to long-term strategies, shaping rare initiatives. A broader platform and registry for congenital anomalies would benefit low and middle-income countries,” he said.
A keynote address was delivered by Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, advisor to the Royal Court and supervisor-general of Saudi aid agency KSrelief.
As the head of the multidisciplinary team for the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program, Al-Rabeeah provided insights into the occurrence and challenges associated with conjoined twins.
The history of conjoined twin separation reveals both the challenges and progress in medical science.
“The first successful separation was by Johannes Fatio back in 1689 by using a constricting band for a set of Omphalopagus twins or those sharing liver and gastrointestinal organs,” he said.
With a 0.5 percent incidence rate, this early success involved “presumably, a small joining in the skin, probably a little bit of the liver,” said Al-Rabeeah.
He added that a major breakthrough came in 1957 with the first successful separation of Craniopagus, or twins sharing one brain.
Al-Rabeeah said that the epidemiology shows distinct patterns: “In Western countries, it’s been estimated that we get one conjoined twins in every 50 to 200,000 births.”
He added that, however, it is more prevalent in Southeast Asia and Africa, “presumably because identical twinning and twinning is (found) more in dark-skinned people in Africa and also in Southeast Asia, increasing the incidence.”
The survival statistics, Al-Rabeeah reported, entail that “60 percent of conjoined twins are stillborn, and those who live 40 percent of them will die in the first few days of life, and 70 percent of those who would survive will be females.”
He emphasized that the reasons behind this regional disparity remain unknown and require further research.
Throughout the conference, leading medical professionals presented their expertise on various aspects of caring for and separating conjoined twins. Topics included embryology, multidisciplinary team-building, antenatal care, and labor management.
Dr. Nadia Al-Ghilan, from the maternal-fetal medicine department at King Abdulaziz Medical City, gave a presentation titled “Caring for Conjoined Twins: A Prenatal Journey,” describing the complex process of managing pregnancies involving conjoined twins.
She said that caring for conjoined twins is a complex and delicate process as it requires meticulous prenatal planning and a dedicated medical team.
Al-Ghilan said that “this journey is filled with unique challenges, ethical considerations, and the utmost care to ensure the best possible outcomes for the twins and their family.”
Early diagnosis, she stressed, is critical for effective prenatal referral, counseling, and planning for delivery and postnatal care.
Al-Ghilan also underscored the importance of genetic testing in understanding the chromosomal health of conjoined twins.
“Techniques like amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling can help identify genetic abnormalities, providing valuable information for developing treatment strategies.”
The conference not only serves as a platform for scientific exchange but also fosters dialogue on building global partnerships to support conjoined twins and their families, particularly in low and middle income countries. The conference emphasized the importance of comprehensive care, from prenatal counseling to post-separation rehabilitation.
For over 30 years, the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program has stood as a beacon of hope for families worldwide. The inaugural International Conference on Conjoined Twins is set to continue this legacy, inspiring further advancements in the care and treatment of conjoined twins globally.
Doctor describes difficulties in separating twins joined at the skull
- “Conjoined twins are rare, as has been said, but ‘cranomalies’ are extremely rare,” Dr. Felice D’Arco said
RIYADH: A London-based medical expert at a conference in Riyadh revealed the difficulties in separating a rare form of conjoined twins in which the patients are joined at the skull.
Dr. Felice D’Arco, consultant pediatric neurologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, spoke during the International Conference on Conjoined Twins on Sunday about the condition, which occurs in about one of every 2.5 million births worldwide.
“Conjoined twins are rare, as has been said, but ‘cranomalies’ are extremely rare,” he said.
For radiologists, this means there are no standardized CT and MRI scanning protocols in place for such complex cases, and very few recent cases from which to learn.
“We have protocols for everything, epilepsy, tumors, neurogenetic disorders, this is not the case for craniopagus twins because of their rarity,” D’Arco said.
Medical teams must be set in place, and there must be two of everything; two anesthetic teams, two sets of MRI monitoring, etc., the whole hospital staff is involved in what is considered as an operation taking place on two patients simultaneously, D’Arco explained.
While there is a need to standardize procedures, Dr. D’Arco acknowledged that every set of twins is unique.
“As a radiologist, you need to have the flexibility to change your protocol as needed.”
Therefore, he said, it is best to start with a series of questions relating to different critical parts of the body.
One potential issue is the bones. A dual source CT scan can inform radiologists which parts of the skull of each patient is infused, or “missing,” in the other.
Another problem is the relationship between the brains. D’Arco said that small breaches connecting the two brains, identified by 3D sequencing, present a risk that surgery will cause damage.
Considering the possible ethical and medical complications that could come up in cases in which one of the twins is at risk of dying, he said: “Sometimes you need to ask, can we separate without jeopardizing the lives of the children? These cases are complicated, baffling, and confusing.”
