Finally: The KSA’s First Female Lawyer

“I ask God that I shall serve my religion and my beloved country with it”: so spoke Bayan Mahmoud Zahran after being granted a license to be the KSA’s first female lawyer. Along with Sara Attar, the country’s first female Olympian, and its first female filmmaker Haifaa Al-Mansour, Bayan is a true Saudi pioneer, entering a field that had been exclusively masculine.

After working for years as a legal consultant in an accredited and certified legal institution, Bayan has now opened a law firm in Jeddah which will fight, in the first place, for women’s rights, since many women’s cases cannot be easily addressed by male lawyers.

Ranked among the world’s 100 most powerful Arab women by Arabian Business Magazine, Bayan calls the establishment of the firm a “historical step” that will help Saudi women advance in their quest for full exercise of their rights. It is also, she adds, “a very positive step towards the Saudi court and justices, as we are four female lawyers who got the license. I am hopeful that the number will increase.”

In the meantime, along with her three colleagues, Bayan aims to work in family disputes and criminal and civil cases. “I believe women lawyers can contribute a lot to the legal system,” she says. “This law firm will make a difference in the history of court cases and female disputes in the Kingdom.”

For more info – bayanzahran.com and twitter.com/bayanlawyer1