Jordan Names First Woman Chief District Attorney

Dec. 9: Newly appointed chief district attorney of the country's capital, judge Ihsan Barakat, 46, speaks on her mobile phone in her office in Amman, Jordan. Barakat is the first woman to hold a top prosecutor's post in the pro-American Arab kingdom. (AP2010)

AMMAN, Jordan – Jordan on Thursday appointed a woman as chief district attorney of the country's capital, marking the first time a woman has held a top prosecutor's post in the pro-American Arab kingdom.

Ihsan Barakat, a 46-year-old judge and mother of two, will assume her post on Sunday, Jordan's Judicial Council said in a statement.

The council, which is the highest judicial authority in Jordan, said Barakat will lead a group of 60 prosecutors — which includes only one other woman — in the capital of Amman.

Only male district attorneys serve in other districts across Jordan.

Barakat, who has served as a judge on Jordan's appeals court for the past eight years, called her appointment "good news for women, not only in Jordan but across the Arab world, because it shows that there's no post confined to men in our societies."

"It will bolster women's role in society as a partner in building a better future," she said.

Women in Jordan enjoy more freedom in public life compared to their peers in Saudi Arabia. There are female lawmakers, Cabinet ministers, policewomen, secret service agents, air force pilots and businesswomen.