Egypt’s first-ever female judge Tahani al-Gebali passes away at age of 72 because of Coronavirus

CAIRO - 9 January 2022: Former Vice President of the Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court Tahani al-Gebali, the first-ever female judge, passed away on Sunday morning at the age of 72 because of Coronavirus.

She died at El Agouza hospital where she was receiving treatment from Coronavirus. Her dead body would be buried at her hometown in Tanta, Egypt’s Delta.

Gebali was the first-ever woman to assume one of the highest judicial positions in Egypt’s history. She was born on 20 November 1950. She graduated from the faculty of Law at Al-Mansoura University in 1973. She was known for her opposition to the banned group of the Muslim Brotherhood.

She obtained Masters in the Islamic Jurisdiction studies and constitutional law studies. She worked as a lawyer for 30 years. In 1944. She was elected as the first Egyptian and Arab woman to be a permanent member of the Arab Lawyers Union (ALU ), where she assumed the presidency of the committee of women affairs.

She was also elected twice for the membership of the board of chairpersons of the Egyptian Lawyers’ Syndicate since its establishment in 1912.

In 2003, she was appointed as the first vice president of the Supreme Constitutional Court as per a presidential decree. Gebali was awarded more than 30 honorable merits and shields.

The Egyptian National Council of Women Chairperson Maya Morsy expressed her condolences for the death of Gebali, saying “Egypt has lost one of its iconic persons in the Judicial Authority.”