RAMALLAH, March 13 (JMCC) -  At 35, Leila Ghanem is the first woman to become a Palestinian governor, the latest in a group of trailblazing women leaders who are slowly winning acceptance in this traditional society.

Ghanem, a former intelligence agent, joins a cluster of women in senior positions in the West Bank district of Ramallah, a political and economic hub known for its relatively liberal social attitudes, where she was appointed governor earlier this year. The mayor of the district's main city is a woman, as are four ministers in the Palestinian Cabinet, two Islamic court judges and the head of a Palestinian financial oversight agency.

Ghanem is a woman of few words who is proud of her reputation as a no-nonsense official.

There'll be people who'll say I'm pretending to be tough to prove herself, Ghanem said. But you have to be firm all the time — but you have to know when to be tough, and when to ease up.

Read the rest of the story from the AP at the LA Times...