section_path: Muslim female judges/Female Qadi in the 20th Century
section_name: Female Qadi in the 20th Century
paragraph_text: Female Qadi in the 20th Century
  
  As Muslim states gained independence from Europe, especially the theocracy of the Ottoman Caliphate, the number of law graduates and legal professionals was inadequate, and women were needed to fill the empty spaces in the judiciaries. Rulers reacted by expanding general educational opportunities for women to fill positions in the expanding state bureaucracy, and in the 1950s and 1960s began the first phase of women being appointed as judges. Such was the case in 1950s Indonesia, which has the largest number of female judges in the Muslim world.
  
  In some countries people had more opportunities to study law, such as in Egypt, there were sufficient male law students to study and fill legal positions and other bureaucratic jobs in the burgeoning states, and so women's acceptance into judicial positions was delayed. In comparison, a similar situation happened in Europe and America were after World War II, a shortage of judges in Europe paved the way for European women to enter legal professions and work as judges. American women in World War II also entered the workforce in unprecedented numbers due to the dire need.