A UF graduate became possibly the first woman from Kuwait to pass the February 2018 Washington, D.C., Bar Exam. Accurate records aren’t kept of nationalities of those who pass. But according to James Klausner, a UF engineering professor, a lack of Kuwaiti women in the field makes it a strong possibility she’s the first.
Fatemah Albader graduated from UF in 2014 with a double major in political science and public relations. She then went on to get her Juris Doctor from Emory Law in Atlanta and took the bar exam in D.C. in February.
She said she always was interested in human rights but was not sure what specific route she wanted to take.
“Over time, I started publishing articles with law journals around America and I realized that I wanted to help out the people in the Gulf (Cooperation Council), whether I’m here in America or in Kuwait,” Albader said. “I just want to advocate for equal rights for women and Muslims in the Gulf region.”
For her, coming to America from Kuwait in 2009 was a culture shock, but having her mother with her made the transition easier. The biggest difference was the amount of independence she had when she arrived here, which took a few years for her to get used to.
Albader’s path is one that is relatively unheard of in Kuwait. While the engineering field is going through a women’s empowerment movement, the law field is still male dominated, she said.
“I want to go back and be a role model for those people,” Albader said. “I want to show people that they can do it, that they can go out there and become lawyers or law professors.”
In the future, Albader plans to do work regarding human rights and possibly become a teacher who can speak out to others and motivate them to take action for human rights as well.
Albader knows she comes from a place where it is unusual for a woman to be in the law profession, but she hopes her accomplishment can make a difference in Kuwait and the Middle East, she said.
“I’m pretty sure I’m the first Kuwaiti woman to even pass the D.C. bar because it’s not very common there,” Albader said. “But I want to change that.”
Follow Bailey Wingate on Twitter @baileywingate1 and contact her at bwingate@alligator.org.
