ABSTRACT
W omen make up 14% of the judiciary in Syria and work at alllevels of the ordinary courts, both civil and criminal. However, they do not hold office in the personal status courts, special courts that apply codified religious law. This essay presents all opinions, both majority and minority, that explain the legal and social reasons for the non-appointment of wo men to the Muslim personal status courts known as shari'a courts. I discuss how religious texts and classical Islamic legal doctrine are used today to undermine women's judicial power and o p pose their appointment to the ordinary courts. If a woman cannot act as a sharl'a court judge, then who can? I attempt to answer this all-important question within the Syrian context. The main source of data is interviews conducred with eighty judges and public proseeurars ofDamascus and Aleppo between May 2004 and July 2007.
