Egyptian justice minister says sons of garbage collectors cannot become judges

UPDATE: Egypt justice minister quits over social class remarks.

Egypt’s justice minister is under fire for saying the children of garbage collectors could not grow up to become judges.

In a recent television interview, Minister Mahfouz Saber told a reporter that members of Egypt’s judiciary need to come from “respectable” backgrounds. He added that the son of a garbage collector would be depressed and likely quit if he were to try to become a judge.

“With all due respect to the common man, a judge has prestige, so he must have the foundation of a respectable environment; respectable financially and in terms of morale, and so on”, he said.