Administration
“The town of Aden was tied much more closely into the fabric of the British Empire and developed more rapidly than its surrounding hinterland”. The fundamental law for the Crown Colony of Aden is the Order of Council 28 September 1936, which follows the usual lines of basic legislation for British colonies.
Aden was notable in that Sharia law was not used in the Colony. “All suits, including those dealing with personal status and inheritance of Muslims, are entertained in the ordinary secular courts of the colony”.
Within the Aden Colony there were three local government bodies. The Aden municipality, which covered the town, Tawali, Ma'alla and Crater, the Township authority of Sheikh Othman and finally Little Aden had been established in recent years as a separate body, covering the oil refinery and the workers' settlement. All of these bodies were under the overall control of the Executive council, which in turn was kept in check by the Governor.
Until the 1st of December 1955, the executive council was entirely unelected. The situation improved only slightly after this date, as four members were elected. Judicial administration was also entirely in British hands. “Compared with other British possessions, the development towards self-government and greater local participation has been rather slow".
Education was provided for all children, both boys and girls, until at least intermediate level. Higher education was available on a selective basis through scholarships to study abroad. Primary and Intermediate education was conducted in Arabic while Secondary and independent schools conducted their lessons in Arabic, English, Urdu, Hebrew and Gujarati. There were also, for those who wished, unrecognised Koranic schools for both boys and girls.
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