Islamic Republic's first female head of a juvenile court

“This appointment which was done with the agreement of the chairman of the judiciary, was unprecedented since the Islamic Revolution. We hope the presence of a female judge in the custody of the court, help the prosecutor goals implemented in Adolescents issues more than before.” Jafari dolatabadi, Tehran's prosecutor, said.

This ruling could be the beginning of a new era in women's representation in judgment. As women face challenges to be a judge in Iran and there are disagreements among jurists, legislators, and priests on this.
Jafari Dolatabadi emphasized that the main purpose of the prosecutor is the importance of women, children, and family fields and pointed out the establishment of the Department of Women and Family affairs is to implement this goal. He also explained that the emphasis on women and children is because of the necessity of protecting these people.

“It was planned before that women's prison and juvenile institution become part of the department of women, children and family affairs and now the target is achieved by appointing Ms. Khaki as the head of a juvenile court” he said. One of the useful measures in addressing juvenile delinquency was the appointment of two female interrogators.

Ms. Khaki is one of the pragmatic women activists. She is responsible for prisoner’s health in Gharchak prison and during her years of service she established a great relationship with them and by attending reconciliation meetings she prevented many women from execution.

According to international law and jurisprudence, someone who is engaged in a juvenile court must also consider the emotions and feelings in addition to the law itself. Also the juvenile court counselors are chosen from both Practitioner and retired experts in education, psychology, criminology, social workers, and academics with psychological knowledge of children and adolescents.

Dr. Shahnaz Sajadi, attorney at law and a women activist, said “this is a blessed event. Because in years after Islamic Revolution there were limitations for women to be a judge and their position in the judiciary administrative posts were low, so it is very pleasant. This is the first time that a woman is elected as head of the Judicial Complex and I think this trend is going in a direction that would enable women to sit on the bench as a judge.”

Homa Garmaroodi, head of the Iranian Bar Association, said “Women are more accurate in their work and are stronger in management. Another point is that women can be much more effective for Children and juvenile Courts than men because in these cases we are not only dealing with the right itself but also with emotions and understandings.”

As a matter of fact, in relation to children, this is the character of them that is important and needs attention and must be investigated. Therefore, selection of a woman as head of the court can be very positive for this process and can break the taboos of women presence in the judiciary.

The presence of women in a juvenile court can be kind of reassuring to children. One of the constant excuses to prevent women from judiciary posts is their feelings but who can deny that a woman is required for understanding the circumstances of child offenders? A woman who can control her emotions and with her sense of motherhood, look to the future of children who may be just one step away from prison.
Finally, we hope that benefiting from the expertise and experience of women will not be limited to this case.

 Quoted and edited: Negar Paidar

Sources: http://www.khabaronline.ir/detail/636593/society/judiciary
www.armandaily.ir
http://article.tebyan.net/350404/%D9%82%D8%B6%D8%A7%D9%88%D8%AA-%D8%B2%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86

photo: link