Amal Soliman is an Egyptian Muslimah who became the Muslim world's first
maazoonah, or female marriage registrar, in October 2008. She fought off competition from 10 other male candidates; standing out with her Master's degree in Sharia law, which none of others held. However she was met with resistance at every stage, with many claiming that the post of marriage registrar was not appropriate for females.
In an interview with Al-Jazeera she said:
"When I applied the man at the desk laughed openly at me and said that is was just not possible. He imagined I would go home and forget about it, but instead I argued and told him that I had studied Sharia Law and I know it is an administrative job."
Read the rest of the interview here.
Speaking about her position she also says:
"I will be in a better position than my male counterparts, as young women planning to get married would feel more comfortable in running a woman to woman talk and giving their direct consent to the contract," she further added. This also holds true in cases of divorce as women would find it easier to talk to a female registrar than a male."
Read more in this article from Al-Ahram here.
