Judicial institute admits first female trainees

Ten women training to become Dubai's first female prosecutors were formally admitted to their course yesterday.

DUBAI // Ten women who will train to become Dubai's first female prosecutors were formally admitted to their course yesterday. The trainees, part of a class of 30, are the first women to enrol at the Dubai Judicial Institute. They must complete a one-year course before becoming prosecutors. Thuraya al Zarooni, a practising lawyer, said she enrolled to serve her country.

"My goal is to become a prosecutor, to be up to the challenge and make my country proud," she said. "I would like to prosecute criminal cases since, as a lawyer, criminal law was my speciality." Having worked as a lawyer for six years, Mrs Zarooni said she was prepared to take on extra responsibilities and would not mind the extra work required of a prosecutor. She said the fact she was married and had a family was not a hindrance.

"This is an opportunity for women that we should take advantage of by working hard and rising through the ranks," she said. Amna Bu Katra enrolled at the institute with eight years' experience as a lawyer. She said when she started working as a lawyer, her parents were opposed to her choice. "When I decided to enrol in the institute, my family were concerned about the dangers that the job of prosecutor might pose, but my father has now come around."

She said women should be able to find the right balance between their professional and personal lives and that being a prosecutor should not be an obstacle to marriage and starting a family. Issam al Humaidan, the Dubai Attorney General, welcoming the trainees to the institute, said: "The judiciary needs both male and female cadres... We ask our female trainees to exert great effort and show dedication and perseverance, so next year they may take the oath of office before the Ruler."

Mr Humaidan said the women would handle cases based on their competence. "They will be assigned to handle cases from the smallest misdemeanours up to the biggest capital crimes," he said. [e-mail]