List of first women lawyers and judges in Africa

Algeria

• Blanche Azouley : First female lawyer in Algeria
• Belmihoub Aziz: First female judge in Algeria
• Nadia Hammadi: First female appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Algeria
• Fatiha Sahraoui and Meriem Belmihoub-Zerdani : First indigenous female lawyers in Algeria
• Zigha Djamila: First female appointed as an Attorney General in Algeria

  Angola

• Maria do Carmo Medina : First female lawyer in Angola. She was also the first Vice President of the then newly-created Supreme Court of Angola.
• Efigénia Mariquinha dos Santos Lima Clemente, Maria Immaculate Lourenço da Conceição Neto, and Luzia Bebiana de Almeida Sebastião : First females appointed as Judges of the Constitutional Court of Angola
• Exalgina Gambôa: First female to serve as the President of the Angolan Court of Auditors

  Firsts in a particular region in Angola

• Tânia Gonçalves: First female appointed as the Presiding Judge of the Provincial Court of Huíla

  Benin

• Hélène Aholou Keke : First female lawyer in Benin
• Elisabeth Ekoué Pognon : First female to become a judge, Judge of the Supreme Court of Benin, and President of the Constitutional Court of Benin
• Reine Alapini-Gansou : First Beninise female appointed as a Judge of the International Criminal Court

  Botswana

• Athaliah Molokomme : First female Attorney General of Botswana
• Unity Dow : First female judge in Botswana
• Sanji Mmasenono Monageng: First Motswana female appointed as a Judge of the International Criminal Court

  Burkina Faso

• Antoinette Ouédraogo : First female lawyer in Burkina Faso. She later became the first female Bâtonnier of the Burkina Faso Bar Association.
• :fr:Amina Moussou Ouédraogo Traoré|Amina Moussou Ouédraogo Traoré: First female appointed as the Vice President of the Supreme Court of Burkina Faso and

  Burundi

• Espérance Musirimu : First female lawyer in Burundi
• Domitille Barancira and Christine Nzeyimana: First female justices to serve as the President of the Constitutional Court of Burundi

  Firsts in a particular region in Burundi

• Lucie Nizigama : First female judge in the Karuzi Province, Burundi

  Cameroon

• : First female lawyer in Cameroon
• Alice Nkom : First French-speaking female lawyer in Cameroon
• Florence Rita Arrey: First female justice appointed as the Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal in Cameroon. She was also the first female appointed as the Prosecutor of the Court of First Instance.
• Aimée Ngounou Tchokontheiu: First female appointed as the Attorney General of the Special Criminal Court of Cameroon

  Firsts in a particular region in Cameroon

• Juliana Djenga: First female judge in Kumba

  Cape Verde

• Vera Duarte: First female magistrate in Cabo Verde
• Lígia Lubrino Dias Fonseca : First Bastonária of the Cape Verde Bar Association from 2001–2004. She became First Lady of Cape Verde in 2011.
• Maria de Fátima Coronel: First female appointed as the President of the Supreme Court of Justice of Cape Verde

  Central African Republic

• Thérèse Dejean : First female magistrate in the Central African Republic

  Chad

• Ngonyam Béradinfar: First female magistrate in Chad
• Nadingar Ekoue Thérèse, Jacqueline Moudeina, and Delphine Djiraibe: First female lawyers in Chad respectively

  Firsts in a particular region in Chad

• Ngonyame Bérdingar Mamira: First female judge to serve as the President of the N’Djamema Court of Appeals

  Comoros

• Harimia Ahmed: First female lawyer in Comoros

  Democratic Republic of the Congo

• Guizela "Gisèle" Malanda: First female magistrate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Ntumba Kaja: First female lawyer to become a Bâtonnier in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

  Firsts in a particular region in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

• Viviane Bikuba Cibalonza: First female lawyer in the South Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Otshumba Kandolo: First female lawyer in Kisangani

  Djibouti

• Korane Ahmed Aouled: First Djiboutian woman to start a legal practice in the private sector in Djibouti
• Khadija Abeba: First female justice appointed as the President of the Supreme Court of Djibouti

  Egypt

• Naima Ilyas al-Ayyubi : First female lawyer in Egypt
• Mufidah Abdul Rahman: First female lawyer to take cases to the Court of Cassation in Egypt, the first woman to practice law in Cairo, Egypt, the first woman to plead a case before a military court in Egypt, and the first woman to plead cases before courts in the south of Egypt
• Tahani al-Gebali: First female judge in Egypt
• Sally al-Saidi: First female appointed as a Judge of the Criminal Court and the Head of the Court of Cassation of Egypt
• Dalia al-Namaky: First female appointed as the Chief Judge of the Family Courts in Egypt
• Hasnaa Shaaban Abdullah: First female judge to preside over a court in Egypt

  Firsts in a particular region of Egypt

• Aisha Rateb : First female law professor at Cairo University, Egypt

  Equatorial Guinea

• Ana María Dougan Thomson : One of the practicing female lawyers around the time of Equatorial Guinea's independence in 1968. She later served as the Dean of the Bar Association of Equatorial Guinea.

  Eritrea

• Fozia Hashim: First female appointed as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Eritrea following the country’s declaration of independence in 1991

  Eswatini (Swaziland)

• Qinisile Mabuza : First female lawyer and judge in Eswatini

  Ethiopia

• Atsedeweine Tekle : First female judge in Ethiopia
• Meaza Ashenafi: First female justice appointed as the President of the Federal Supreme Court of Ethiopia

  Gabon

• Marylise Issembé: First female lawyer in Gabon
• Rose Francine Rogombé: First female judge in Gabon
• Marie-Madeleine Mborantsuo: First female justice to serve as the President of the Constitutional Court of Gabon

  Gambia

• Mariam Jack-Denton : First female lawyer in The Gambia
• Mary Sey: First female judge in Gambia
• Hawa Sisay-Sabally: First female Attorney General of the Gambia
• Mabel Agyemang : First female justice appointed as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Gambia

  Ghana

• Annie Jiagge : First female lawyer in Ghana. She later became first woman in Ghana and the Commonwealth of Nations to become a judge.
• Joyce Bamford-Addo : First female Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana
• Sophia Akuffo: First Ghanaian elected to serve as a Judge of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights
• Georgina Theodora Wood : First female justice appointed as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana
• Betty Mould-Iddrisu : First female to serve as the Attorney General of Ghana

  Firsts in a particular region in Ghana

• May Stella Dontoh: First female lawyer in Cape Coast, Ghana

  Guinea

• Fatoumata Binta Diallo : First woman who registered to practice law in the Bar of the Republic of Guinea Conakry

  Guinea-Bissau

• Maria do Céu Monteiro: First female justice elected as the President of the Supreme Court of Justice and the Superior Council of Guinea-Bissau

  Ivory Coast

• Kwassi Béatrice Cowplli-Boni: First female lawyer in Ivory Coast
• Mazohin Marguerite: First female judge in Ivory Coast
• Martine Tiacoh: First female to serve as a councillor for the Constitutional Council of Ivory Coast
• Camara Nanaba Chantal: First female justice appointed as the President of the Court of Cassation of Ivory Coast

  Kenya

• Katharine Hurst: First female prosecutor in the Kenya Colony
• Effie Owuor : First female judge of Kenya. She was also the first female to be appointed as a state counsel, magistrate, and Judge of the Court of Appeal in Kenya.
• Kalpana Rawal : First female lawyer in Kenya. She later became the first female judge of Asian descent in Kenya.
• Josephine Sinyo: First blind female lawyer in Kenya

  Lesotho

• Kelello Justina Mafoso-Guni: First female appointed as a Judge of the High Court in Lesotho
• 'Neile Alina 'Mantoa Fanana : First woman to hold the post of ombudsman in Lesotho
• Nthomeng Majara : First female justice appointed as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Lesotho
• Hlalefang Motinyane: First female appointed as the Acting Director of Public Prosecutions for Lesotho

  Liberia

• Angie Brooks : First female lawyer in Liberia. She later became the first female appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia.
• Emma Shannon Walser : First female judge in Liberia
• Amymusu K. Jones: First female magistrate in Liberia. She was also the first female to serve as a Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court in Grand Cape Mount County, Liberia.
• Frances Johnson-Morris: First female justice appointed as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia
• Charlene Aimesa Reeves: First female to serve as the Solicitor General for Liberia

  Libya

• Karima El Hadi Turki: First female lawyer in Libya
• Rafia al-Obeidi and Fatima al-Barasi: First female judges in Libya

  Firsts in a particular region of Libya

• Naeima Gebril: First female to serve as an appellate judge in Benghazi

  Madagascar

• Berthe Raharijaona: First female lawyer in Madagascar
• Emilie Radaodyralaroey: First female appointed as a councilor of the Supreme Court of Madagascar
• Fanirisoa Ernaivo: First female elected as the President of the Union of Magistrates of Madagascar
• Chantal Razafinarivo: First female to serve as the Bâtonnier of the Madagascar Bar Association

  Malawi

• Vera Chirwa : First female lawyer in Malawi
• Anastasia Msosa : First female appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals, Judge of the High Court, and Chief Justice
• Chanju Samantha Mwale : First female lawyer in Malawi's army

  Mali

• Fatoumata Sylla : First female lawyer in Mali. She later became the first female Bâtonnièr of the Bar Association in Mali.
• Kaïta Kayentao Diallo: First female Justice of the Peace in Mali. She is also the first female appointed as the President of the Supreme Court of Mali.
• Diakité Manassa Danioko: First female appointed as the President of the Constitutional Court of Mali. She was also the first female appointed as the Attorney General of Mali.

  Mauritania

• Fatimata M'Baye : First female lawyer in Mauritania
• Amamah Bint Cheikh Sidya: First female judge in Mauritania
• Tekber Mint Oudeika: First female judge to serve as the president of a court in Mauritania

  Mauritius

• Laure Pillay : First female lawyer in Mauritius. She later became the first female judge in Mauritius.
• Saheda Peeroo : First Muslim female lawyer in Mauritius
• Shirin Aumeeruddy-Cziffra: First female to become the Attorney General in Mauritius
• Vidya Narayan: First female appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Mauritius

  Mayotte (FRA)

• Fatima Ousseni : First female lawyer in Mayotte
• Gracieuse Lacoste-Etcheverry: First female appointed as the President of the Court of Appeal of Saint-Denis
• Valérie Lebreton: First female to serve as the President of the Tribunal de Grande of Saint-Denis

  Morocco

• Hélène Cazès-Benatar : First female lawyer in Morocco
• Zaynab Abd al-Razzaq: First female judge in Morocco
• Zineb El Adaoui: First female appointed as a Judge of the Court of Auditors of Morocco
• Saâdia Belmir: First female appointed as a Judge of the Constitutional Council of Morocco
• Laïla Benjelloun: First female judge to serve as the First President of the Court of Appeal of Commerce of Morocco
• Hajibah al-Bukhari: First female appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Judicial Council of Morocco
• Rahmona Ziani: First female appointed as a Crown Prosecutor in Morocco
• Jamila Sedqi: First Moroccan female to serve as a Judge of the Administrative Tribunal of the African Union

  Firsts in a particular region in Morocco

• Zhour Al Horr: First female judge in El Jadida, Morocco
• Salima Faraji : First female to register with the Lawyers Association in Oujda
• Najat Chraibi Berrada : First female registered in the Bar Association of Rabat

  Mozambique

• Noémia Neves Anacleto : First female lawyer in Mozambique
• Gita Honwana Welch: First female academic lawyer in Mozambique. She was also one of Mozambique's first female judges.
• Luísa Chadraca : First woman to enroll with the Bar Association of Mozambique
• Beatriz Buchili: First female appointed as the Attorney General of Mozambique

  Firsts in a particular region in Mozambique

• Maria Luisa Sacadura: First female lawyer in Beira, Mozambique

  Namibia

• Karen Goldblatt Marshall : First female lawyer in Namibia. She later became the first female judge in Namibia.
• Maria Catharina Greeff : First native-born Caucasian female lawyer in Namibia. She was also the first female conveyance to be admitted in Namibia.
• Susan Vivier : First female lawyer to obtain Senior Counsel status in Namibia
• Bience Gawanas : First native-born Namibian female lawyer in Namibia. She was also the first female appointed as the Head of the Office of the Namibian Ombudsman.
• Mavis Gibson: First female appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Namibia
• Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana : The only female among 21 members of Namibia Constituent Assembly and later became the first female Attorney General of Namibia
• Martha Imalwa: First female appointed as the Prosecutor General of Namibia

  Niger

• Adji Fati Kountche: First female lawyer in Niger
• Fatimata Bazeye Salifou : First female magistrate in Niger. She later became the first female appointed as the President of the Constitutional Court of Niger.
• Eliane J. Allagbada: First female to serve as the President of the Court of Accounts of Niger. She was also the first female to serve as a Judge of the Court of First Instance of Niamey.

  Nigeria

• Stella Thomas : First female lawyer in Nigeria. She later became the first female magistrate in Nigeria.
• Modupe Omo-Eboh : First female judge in Nigeria
• Folake Solanke : First female lawyer in Nigeria to become Senior Advocate of Nigeria and Senior Counsel
• Victoria Ayodele Uzoamaka Onejeme : First female to become an Attorney General in the history of Nigeria
• Aloma Mariam Mukhtar : First female appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and its Chief Justice. She was also the first female lawyer in Northern Nigeria, as well as the first female Judge of the Kano High Court, Nigeria.
• Roseline Ukeje : First female justice appointed as the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court in Nigeria
• Dora Wilson-Ekwo: First female lawyer in the Nigerian Armed Forces
• Zainab Bulkachuwa: First female judge to serve as the President of the Court of Appeals of Nigeria
• Catherine Edeh-Nnadi : First deaf female lawyer in Nigeria

  Firsts in a particular region in Nigeria

• Mary Slessor: First female magistrate in what was then Southern Nigeria. She was also known as being the first female magistrate in the British Empire.
• Ijem Onwuamaegbu: First female to serve as a Chief Judge in Anambra State, Nigeria
• Hauwa Ibrahim : First Muslim female lawyer in the Yamaltu District in the Gombe State, Nigeria
• Ijeoma Uche: First female judge in the Imo State and Abia State in Nigeria
• Rahila Hadea Cudjoe : First female appointed as a Judge of the High Court, as well as the Chief Judge of Kaduna State, Nigeria
• Dulcie Ethel Adunola Oguntoye: First female judge in Lagos State, Nigeria
• Aisha Jumai Alhassan: First female lawyer to become Taraba State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, as well as the first woman to become Secretary of the Federal Capital Territory Judicial Council in Nigeria

  Republic of the Congo

• Agathe Pembellot : First female magistrate in the Republic of the Congo, as well as the first female member of the Supreme Court of Congo
• Julienne Ondziel-Gnelenga : First female lawyer in the Republic of the Congo, as well as the first female to serve as a Bâtonnier

  Réunion (FRA)

• Marie Collardeau : First female lawyer in Réunion
• Gracieuse Lacoste-Etcheverry: First female appointed as the President of the Court of Appeal of Saint-Denis
• Valérie Lebreton: First female to serve as the President of the Tribunal de Grande of Saint-Denis .

  Rwanda

• Agnes Mukabaranga : First woman that registered to practice law in the Rwanda Bar Association
• Immaculée Nyirinkwaya: First female appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Rwanda
• Aloysia Cyanzayire: First female justice elected as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Rwanda

  Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (GBR)

• Jane Hamilton-White: First female appointed as the Public Solicitor for Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha

São Tomé and Príncipe

• Alice Vera Cruz: First female judge and President of the Supreme Court of São Tomé and Príncipe
• Celiza de Deus Lima: First female to serve as the Bastonária of the São Tomé and Príncipe Bar Association

  Senegal

• Mame Bassine Niang : First female lawyer in Senegal
• Marie José Crespin: First female judge in Senegal
• Dior Fall Sow : First female prosecutor in Senegal
• Andresia Vaz: First female judge to serve as the First President of the Court of Cassation of Senegal. She is also the first female to serve as the President of the Court of Appeal of Dakar, Senegal.
• Mireille Ndiaye: First female to serve as the Attorney General of the Court of Cassation of Senegal and President of the Constitutional Council of Senegal
• Zeynab Mbengue: First female to serve as a Magistrate of the Court of Accounts of Senegal

  Seychelles

• Danielle Rasool : Reputed to be the first female lawyer in Seychelles
• Mathilda Twomey : First female judge in Seychelles. She is also the first female justice appointed as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Seychelles.
• Fiona Robinson: First female appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Seychelles

  Sierra Leone

• Frances Claudia Wright : First female lawyer in Sierra Leone
• Agnes Macaulay : First female judge in Sierra Leone
• Patricia Macaulay: First female appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone
• Umu Hawa Tejan-Jalloh : First female justice appointed as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone
• Priscilla Schwartz: First female appointed as the Attorney General in Sierra Leone

  Somalia

• Caasha-Kin Duale : One of the few female lawyers in Somalia during the 1970s and 1980s
• Samira Hussein Daud: One of the first six female prosecutors in Somalia

  Somaliland (SOM)

• Ifrah Aden Omar: First practicing female lawyer in Somaliland
• Khadra Hussein Mohammad: First female lawyer to become the National Deputy Prosecutor in Somaliland
• Aswan Harmud: First female lawyer to become the Prosecutor of Somaliland

  South Africa

• Irene Antoinette Geffen : First female barrister in South Africa
• Leonora van den Heever : First female judge in South Africa
• Navanethem Pillay : First Tamil-Indian female appointed as a Judge of the High Court of South Africa. She was also the first female lawyer to start a law practice in the Natal Province.
• Desiree Finca : First Black female lawyer in South Africa
• Yvonne Mokgoro and Kate O'Regan: First females appointed as Justices of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. Mokgoro is also known as the first Black female judge in South Africa.
• Lucy Mailula: First Black female appointed as a Judge of the High Court of South Africa
• Mandisa Maya: First female appointed as President of the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa

  Firsts in a particular region in South Africa

• Bertha Solomon : First female lawyer to plead a case before the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in Bloemfontein
• Leona Theron: First Black female appointed as a Judge of the KwaZulu-Natal High Court, South Africa

  Sudan

• Sania Mustafa : First female lawyer in Sudan
• Ihsan Mohamed Fakhri: First female judge in Sudan. She later became the first female appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Sudan.
• Nagwa Kamal Farid: First female appointed as a Judge of the Shari'a Court in Sudan
• Nemat Abdullah Khair: First female Chief Justice/President of the Supreme Court of Sudan

  Tanzania

• Julie Manning: First female lawyer in Tanzania. She later became the first female judge.
• Eusebia Munuo: First female to serve as a Justice of the Court of Appeal of Tanzania

  Togo

• Acouetey Massan Lorette: First female lawyer in Togo
• Biyémi Brigitte Brym-Kekeh: First female magistrate in Togo
• Edwige Ablavi Hohoueto: First female appointed as a Judge of the Constitutional Court of Togo
• Evelyne Afiwa Hohoeto: First Togolese female elected as a Judge at the Common Court of Justice and Arbitration of the Organization for the Harmonization in Africa of Business Law

  Tunisia

• Juliette Smaja Zerah : First female lawyer in Tunisia
• Amna Aouij: First female magistrate in Tunisia
• Emma Chtioui and Joudeh Jijah: First female judges respectively in Tunisia
• Aïda Ajimi : First Muslim female lawyer in Tunisia
• Rafiâ Ben Ezzedine: First female judge appointed as the President of a Court of Appeal in Tunisia
• Faouzia Ben Alaya: First female appointed as the President of the Court of Cassation of Tunisia

  Uganda

• Princess Elizabeth Christobel Edith Bagaaya Akiiki of Toro : First female lawyer in Uganda
• Laeticia Kikonyogo : First female magistrate in Uganda. She was also the first female Chief Magistrate, Judge of the High Court of Uganda, Justice of the Supreme Court of Uganda and Deputy Chief Justice of Uganda.
• Julia Sebutinde : First Ugandan female appointed as a Judge of the International Court of Justice
• Florence Ndagire : First female lawyer with visual impairment in Uganda

  Zambia

• J. J. McGrowther : First female barrister when the country was known as Northern Rhodesia
• Beatrice Feleni Makamo Ng'onomo. First female Zambian Law degree graduate. First Female Zambian to hold LL.B Degree. University of Zambia. Advocate.
• Lombe P. Chibesakunda : First Zambian female lawyer and first female Solicitor General in Zambia. She was the first female to serve as Acting Chief Justice of Zambia.
• Florence Mumba : First female judge in Zambia.
• Hildah Chibomba, Mugeni Mulenga, and Anne Sitali: First females to serve as Judges of the Constitutional Court of Zambia. Chimbomba was also the first female to serve as President of the Constitutional Court of Zambia.
• Irene Mambilima: First female justice appointed as the Chief Justice of Zambia

  Zanzibar (TZN)

• Janet Sekihola: First female appointed as a Primary Court Magistrate in Zanzibar

  Zimbabwe

• Phyllis Mackendrick : First female lawyer when the country was known as Rhodesia
• Kelello Justina Mafoso-Guni: First female magistrate in Zimbabwe
• Thérèse Striggner Scott: First female appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Zimbabwe
• Vernanda Ziyambi: First female appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe
• Rita Makarau: First female appointed as the Judge President of the High Court of Zimbabwe
• Anne-Marie Gowora, Elizabeth Gwaunza, Antonia Guvava, Rita Makarau and Susan Mavangira: First females to serve as Judges of the Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe

• FRA = Overseas region of France
• GBR = British overseas territory of the United Kingdom
• SOM = Self-declared state in Somalia
• TZN = Autonomous administrative division of Tanzania