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May 23, 2012 |
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Women???s political rights have been a cornerstone of the political reforms initiated by Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa| King Hamad with for the first time women being given the right to vote and stand as candidates in Elections in Bahrain| national elections after the constitution was amended in 2002. The extension of equal political rights has been accompanied by a self-conscious drive to promote women to positions of authority within government. The move to give women the vote in 2002 was part of a wide ranging political reforms that have seen the establishment of a democratically elected parliament and the release of political prisoners. Before 2002, women had no political rights and could neither vote in elections or stand as candidates. There was though some ambiguity towards the extension of political rights from sections of Bahraini society, not least from women themselves with http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_ID=10&article_ID=16064&categ_id=5 60% of Bahraini women surveyed in 2001 opposed to extending the vote to women. Although many women stood as candidates in both municipal and parliamentary elections in 2002 none were elected to office. Women candidates were conspicuous by their absence in the lists of Islamist parties such as Al Wefaq, Al Menbar and Asalah. Following the poor performance of women candidates in the parliamentary elections, six women including one Christian, were appointed to the upper chamber of parliament, the Shura Council. In 2004, Bahrain appointed its first female minister, Dr Nada Haffadh to the position of Health Minister, and in 2005 a second woman minister was appointed to the cabinet. Bahrain's move was widely credited with encouraging women's rights activists in the rest of the Gulf to step up demands for equality. In 2005, it was announced that Kuwait| Kuwaiti women would be granted equal political rights to men. The most pressing issue for many Bahraini women is the lack of a codified family law or Personal Status Law as it is known, leaving matters of divorce and child custody to the discretion of Sharia judges, who have been criticised for a lack of consistency in their judgements. However, reform of the law is resisted by the leading Shia Islamist party, Al Wefaq, with a http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=125278&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=28220 looming political showdown likely with women's rights activists. Al Wefaq has stated that neither parliament nor the government have authority to change the law because these institutions could 'misinterpret the word of God'. Instead the right to reform the law is the sole responsibility of religious leaders. In 9 November 2005, supporters of Al Wefaq claimed to have organised Bahrain's largest ever demonstration with 120000 protesting against the introduction of the Personal Status Law, and for the maintenance of each religious group having their own divorce and inheritance laws. On the same day an alliance of women's rights organisations held a rally calling for a unified law, but this attracted only 500 supporters.
Category:Politics of Bahrain Category:Bahrain Islamists Category:Women This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Women's political rights in Bahrain".
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