The Muslim Shari’a courts in the Middle East had never appointed a women to the position of judge until Kholoud Al-Faqih came along. The groundbreaking Palestinian lawyer, who became the first Arab woman judge in 2009, tells her story in this documentary filmed in the Palestinian territories. The film showcases Faqih’s tireless fight for justice for women, while addressing universal domestic conflicts including child custody, divorce, and spousal abuse. Her challenges are both personal and political as she comes up against influential Arabic customs and Islamic religious traditions that defer to men. “If I can’t achieve justice for myself, I can’t achieve justice for others,” she says in the film.
Panel: Courtney Mangus, program director for San Francisco Bay Area Council on American Islamic Relations, and local Muslim women: commentary on justice and equality for women in the Muslim world
