Ever had a promotion that literally made history?

Judge Ihsan Zuhdi Barakat just has – she’s the first woman in Jordan to be made a Supreme Court judge, the Jordan Times reports. It’s the highest position in the country’s judiciary.

Barakat’s whole career is a series of broken barriers. She’s held positions at the Amman Court of Appeal, and as a judicial inspector.  She was also the first woman to serve as Amman’s attorney general, and to chair the West Amman Court, the Jordan Times reports.

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The newly appointed judge has also served as president of the Arab Women’s Legal Network, which aims to support women working in the law across the region. It was formed in 2005 with the backing of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan. Safe to say Barakat has a pretty impressive curriculum vitae.

In Jordan, 18 per cent of the judiciary are women, local feminist organisation SIGI Jordan reported last year. Barakat’s success has been hard-won, she told SIGI last year.

“I did not get to these sites easily, especially as I was married and have responsibilities towards my family,” she said. “I remember that on some days I slept for only a few hours, so I did not feel that I did not perform the tasks that were most needed.”

Barakat told SIGI that her family were a key inspiration.

“My mother, may God have mercy on her, was a distinguished teacher. She and my father, Abu-Atallah, cooperated [for] a lifetime,” she said.

Barakat’s own eldest daughter is now studying law in London. Looks like it’s a bit of a family business.

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