of Quazis. The Board of Quazis can start the proceedings at whatever time they want and end the proceedings at whatever time they want. The Office of the Board of Quazis is situated in Hulftsdorp, Colombo 12. Muslim female judges Post-colonialism and female judges As Muslim states gained independence from Europe, a vacuum was intentionally left by the colonizing powers in various sectors of education and government. European colonizers were careful to exclude "natives" from access to legal education and legal professions. Thus, 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 the colonized had more opportunities to study law, such as in Egypt. Sufficient male students to study law and fill legal positions and other bureaucratic jobs in the postcolonial state may have delayed women's acceptance into judicial positions. In comparison, a similar situation happened in Europe and America. 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. Contemporary female judges in Muslim states Although the role of qadi has traditionally been restricted to men, women now serve as qadis in many countries, including Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Malaysia, Palestine, Tunisia, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates. In 2009, two women were appointed as qadis by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. In 2010, Malaysia appointed two women as qadis as well. However, it was decided that as women they may only rule over custody, alimony, and common property issues, not over criminal or divorce cases, which usually make up most of a qadi's work. In Indonesia, there are nearly 100 female qadis. In 2017, Hana Khatib was appointed as the first female qadi in Israel. In Morocco, a researcher found that female judges were more sensitive to the interests of female litigants in alimony cases and held similar views to their male colleagues in maintaining Sharia standards