FREEDOM
HOUSE
Women’s Rights in the
Middle East & North Africa
http://www.freedomhouse.org/media/pressrel/052005.htm
Bahrain
by Sabika
al-Najjar
Population: 700,000
GDP Per Capita (PPP): $17,170
Economy: Capitalist-statist
Ranking on UN HDI: 40 out of 177
Polity: Traditional monarchy
Literacy: Male 91.5% / Female 84.2%
Percent Women Economically Active:
34.2%
Date of Women’s Suffrage: 2002
Women’s Fertility Rate: 2.6
Percent Urban/Rural: Urban 87% / Rural
13%
Country
Ratings for Bahrain
Nondiscrimination and Access to Justice: 2.2
Autonomy, Security, and Freedom of the Person:
2.3
Economic Rights and Equal Opportunity: 2.9
Political Rights and Civic Voice: 2.1
Social and Cultural Rights: 2.8
(Scale of 1 to 5: 1 represents the lowest and 5 the
highest level of freedom women have to exercise their
rights)
Introduction
Bahrain gained its independence from Britain in August
1971 and adopted its first constitution on December 6, 1973. In August 1975,
Emir Isa ibn Salman al-Khalifa dissolved Bahrain’s National Assembly and
suspended its constitution. For the next 25 years, the citizens of Bahrain lived
under the State Security Law and the Emergency Law. Legislation issued during
this period, such as the penal code, the Associations Law, and the Criminal
Procedures laws, was poorly implemented due to the executive authority’s control
over the judiciary system. The regime banned political parties and trade unions,
suspended civil liberties, and imprisoned political activists and political
opponents.
Under Bahrain’s 2002 constitution, the king is the head
of all three branches of Bahrain’s monarchical government. After the death of
Emir Isa in 1999, his son Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa took power and began to
implement various political and economic reforms. By the end of the year 2000,
general amnesty was granted to political prisoners and exiles, the State
Security Law and State Security Court were abolished, and women obtained
previously denied political rights. On February 14, 2001, Bahraini citizens
overwhelmingly approved the National Action Charter that would establish a partially
elected legislature, a constitutional monarchy, and an independent judiciary. A
bicameral parliament now exists with a 40-seat appointed upper house, the Shura
Council, and a 40-seat elected lower house, the House of Deputies. Despite these
positive steps, political parties remain banned in Bahrain, the media are
constrained, and NGOs face extensive restrictions.
The
small island nation of Bahrain is a rich, tax-free country with a per capita
income of $17,170. Migrant workers and expatriates, predominantly from Asia,
comprise about 38 percent of Bahrain’s population of 700,000. Most immigrants
are employed in industries, construction, or domestic work. The majority of the
population of Bahrain is Muslim, mostly Shi’as;[i] while
the government is predominantly Sunni. Poverty ratios are high among the Shi’a
population.
The
government of Bahrain encouraged women to run for office in the 2002 parliamentary and municipal
elections and has initiated work on
family law aimed at regulating women’s rights in areas such as divorce,
marriage, and child custody. In 2001, the government established the Supreme
Council for Women, an umbrella organization devised to oversee women’s
rights–related work in Bahrain. The number of NGOs devoted to women’s issues has
grown over the last three years.
Despite the recent attention directed toward women’s
rights, the government has failed to adopt any viable policies that would
positively affect women’s status in Bahrain. The law obliges women’s NGOs in
Bahrain to obtain permission before organizing national-level meetings on
critical issues regarding women’s rights. Moreover, they are not allowed to
receive independent funds from abroad. The government of Bahrain ratified the UN
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW) in 2002, but with reservations on articles concerning family law,
equality, freedom of movement, and residence. Women still encounter numerous
social and legal obstacles such as arbitrary divorce, gender-based violence, and
discrimination in the workplace. Gender discrimination remains a problem in
Bahrain; the UNDP Human Development
Report ranked Bahrain 66th out of 177 countries on the status of gender
empowerment measures in 2004.[ii]
Nondiscrimination
and Access to Justice
On
February 14, 2002, the king issued the Constitution of the Kingdom of
Bahrain, replacing the constitution of 1973.
According to Article 5/B of the constitution, the state shall maintain the
balance between family obligations and women’s work and also help to maintain
women’s equal status with men in political, social, cultural, and economic life,
without jeopardizing the Shari’a
laws. The constitution also ensures all citizens the right to education at all
levels, health care, property, housing, work, the right to defend the country,
and the right to engage in economic activities.[iii]
Although the constitution does not discriminate between people based on their
gender, nationality, or belief, there are no laws that make discrimination
illegal.
Bahraini Nationality Law establishes the right of
Bahraini men to pass their nationality on to their foreign-born wives and the
children of these marriages. On the other hand, the law forbids Bahraini women
to transfer their nationality to their children or foreign-born
husbands.[iv] However, in April 2004, the parliament agreed to allow
Bahraini women to sponsor their foreign spouses and children, enabling adult
children and husbands to work in the country without an employment
sponsor.[v]
Bahrain’s judicial system and its constitution stipulate
that both men and women should have equal access to justice and the right to a
fair trial. In reality, practical guarantees against gender discrimination do
not exist. It is not uncommon for judges to demonstrate prejudice against women
in court.[vi] Women may also face numerous obstacles during Shari’a
court proceedings, which are male dominated and extremely complex. Lengthy court
procedures, particularly in cases of divorce, are just one example of the
hardships placed on women seeking justice. Men are free to divorce their wives
at any time, but women are required to appeal to Shari’a courts in order to be
granted a divorce.
A woman is recognized as a full person before the court
in Bahrain; a woman’s testimony is equal to that of a man’s, and a woman can
file a complaint and represent herself in all legal matters. The Shari’a courts,
however, state that a valid witness should be two men, or two women and one man.
In cases of domestic violence against women, Shari’a courts do not accept the
testimony of close relatives or of just one woman. Considering that most
domestic violence occurs in the home, where witnesses are usually mothers or
close relatives, victims have little chance of proving their cases. Moreover,
female victims of spousal abuse are often subject to blackmail or threats by the
police and judges during investigations or trials. In some cases, the families
pressure victims to remain silent and deter them from seeking justice.
In
an attempt to reform the Shari’a courts, on March 10, 2004, the Supreme Judicial
Council appointed to the Shari’a four male judges known to be impartial and
judicious with regard to family issues.[vii]
Although this is considered a positive step toward women’s rights, the judicial
system is still in need of fundamental reform.[viii]
Bahrain’s penal code contains numerous gender-specific
laws. Some articles in the penal code are devised to protect women from violence
by punishing such crimes as assaults on pregnant women, rape, and sexual
harassment. Article 344 of the penal code states that any person who has sexual
intercourse with a female against her will shall face life in
prison.
While Bahrain’s criminal and penal laws do not
discriminate against women criminal defendants, some laws actually discriminate
against women who are victims of crimes. Article 353 states that no penalty
shall be inflicted upon a person who rapes an unmarried woman, as long as he
then marries the victim. Article 333 of the Bahraini penal code specifies a life
sentence or death for the crime of murder; but Article 334 provides a reduced
sentence (unspecified length) for a man who surprises his wife in the act of
adultery and proceeds to murder or assault her. Such laws often allow criminals
to escape punishment, as families and victims often accept these unjust verdicts
or fail to report the crimes altogether in order to avoid social disgrace and
shame. Bahraini law does not penalize the sexual violation of spouses. According
to social norms and local understanding of religious traditions, it is the
obligation of the wife to satisfy her husband sexually.
The
constitution prohibits arbitrary arrest, detention, exile, and the stripping of
citizenship, with the exception of cases involving grand treason.[ix]
In practice, non-citizens such as foreign workers and female domestic helpers
often face arbitrary detention and deportation as a result of disputes with
their sponsors or due to lack of work permits.[x]
Some sponsors take advantage of this situation and deport domestic workers
without paying them their salaries.[xi]
The
Bahraini government ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) on March 2, 2002, but included a number of
reservations. Reservations were applied to the following articles: Article 2, on
the basis that its implementation would conflict with the Shari’a; Article 9,
which addresses equality in nationality rights; Article 15, paragraph 4, which
relates to freedom of movement and residence; and Article 16, which deals with
family law and equality within the family.[xii] These
reservations have served to basically nullify the treaty’s fundamental aims and
functions.
While women’s status has somewhat improved since the
ratification of CEDAW in areas such as political rights and increased
representation in the Shura Council, the government of Bahrain has made almost
no effort to review and amend the existing national laws and policies to bring
them into conformity with CEDAW standards. Moreover, it has not signed the
Optional Protocol on CEDAW that allows women to register complaints with the
CEDAW committee if they cannot achieve justice in their own country.
The
number of NGOs devoted to women’s issues increased from 5 in 2001 to 14 at the
close of 2003.[xiii] Women are active in political societies[xiv] as
well as in NGOs that advocate for the recognition of women’s rights under CEDAW.
Women’s groups also serve to educate women on their rights under the Shari’a and
Bahrain’s laws. However, NGOs have done little to promote a review of or changes
in existing legislation that negatively impacts women’s
lives.
In
addition to the organizational and financial challenges confronting women’s
NGOs, Bahrain’s Societies Law, which regulates all of Bahrain’s NGOs, imposes
severe restrictions on their work. Bahrain’s NGOs are prohibited from engaging
in political activity, and the law permits the Ministry of Labor and Social
Affairs to intervene in their internal affairs and activities. According to the
Societies Law, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has the right to access
NGO files, suspend their executive boards, and terminate their licenses. NGOs
must also obtain permission to organize a national meeting or international
conference to address such topics as family law or violence against women.
Recommendations
1.
The government and National Assembly should amend national laws in order to
bring all legislation in conformity with principles of
non-discrimination.
2.
The Supreme Judiciary Council should reform Bahrain’s judiciary system so that
women do not face discrimination from judges and other court officers,
particularly in Shari’a courts.
3.
The Supreme Council for Women (SCW) should assist women’s rights NGOs to conduct
media and public outreach programs to inform women of their legal rights under
Bahrain’s existing laws.
4.
The government should remove all reservations to CEDAW and take steps to
implement it locally by bringing national laws in conformity with
CEDAW.
Autonomy,
Security, and Freedom of the Person
Bahrain has made progress in achieving both civil and
personal freedoms since the start of the political reforms of 2001. However,
laws that restrict freedom of the press raise skepticism about the
sustainability of these rights.
Article 22 of the
constitution states that, “Freedom of conscience is absolute. The State
guarantees the inviolability of worship and the freedom to perform religious
rites and hold religious parades and meetings in accordance with the customs
observed in the country.” Bahrain’s citizen population is 98 percent Muslim, but
Christians, Jews, Hindus, and other religious adherents are able to practice
their religions freely in their churches and temples.[xv] The same freedom holds
true for Shi’as, who constitute two-thirds of the indigenous
population.[xvi] Conversion between the
Sunni and Shi’a sects is not favorably regarded in Bahrain, and converting from
Islam to another religion or declaring oneself a non-believer is not tolerated.
While there are no direct legal restrictions on women’s
freedom of movement, women’s rights may be limited by socially imposed
restrictions such as requiring a woman to request permission from the head of
the household in order to travel abroad. Islamic fundamentalists in Bahrain
support this practice, in that they consider it to be a part of a woman’s
religious obligation. In some cases, women are obliged to request permission to
leave their residence to visit friends or family.
It
is not socially acceptable for a single woman to live on her own, especially if
she still has a living parent. According to the now-outdated practice of bayt al-ta‘a (literally, “house of
obedience”), a woman could be forced by the police to reside with her husband
against her will. This procedure is no longer implemented in Bahrain but the law
still exists. The Shari’a courts in Bahrain consider a wife who refuses to live
with her husband to be nashiz
(disobedient)[xvii] and can deprive her of a nafaqa (an allowance from her husband).
Family law is not yet codified in Bahrain. Despite
efforts by the government and women’s NGOs, the family law agenda is frequently
sidelined, often as a result of opposition from both Shi’a and Sunni religious
leaders. Some legislators are calling for a unified law, while others prefer two
Islamic codes to accommodate the demands of both the Sunni and the Shi’a
populations. The absence of a family law has rendered women vulnerable to individualistic, patriarchal, and often contradictory
interpretations of the Shari’a by Bahrain’s all-male judges.
The
marriage contract in Bahrain has remained unchanged since it was adopted some 75
years ago. With the exception of the mahar (dower, a sum of money
given to a wife by her husband at the time of marriage), this contract does not
provide both parties equally with the opportunity to stipulate conditions or
negotiate their rights. In some cases, a wife can stipulate that she would like
to continue working after marriage or to remain in Bahrain if the husband lives
abroad.
In
Bahrain, a Sunni bride is required to have a wali (guardian) who will represent her
during the marriage proceedings. A wali is most often a father, brother, or
uncle. If a woman does not have a wali, the judge will represent her in
completing the marriage formalities. Conversely, a Shi’a woman can sign her own
marriage contract, but Shi’a women tend not to have as much independence in
selecting their marriage partner and are often heavily influenced by their
family’s choices. When a marriage contract is completed, a husband will pay his
wife the mahar, which will usually become the property of the wife. If the wife
requests a divorce, she is expected to pay the mahar back to her husband.
Bahrain lacks anti-trafficking laws and does not fully
comply with international standards on the elimination of trafficking in
persons. Foreigners, mostly from South Asia and other Arab countries, constitute
approximately 38 percent of Bahrain’s total population.[xviii] Many female domestic workers and expatriates in Bahrain
are victims of trafficking and indentured servitude. Some female domestic
workers and women employees of restaurants and hotels reportedly experience
practices such as forced 12- to 16-hour workdays, rape, sexual harassment, and
forced prostitution. Some of these problems may be linked to the sponsorship
system, which places expatriate workers under the control of their
sponsors.[xix]
Bahraini law prohibits torture or cruel, inhuman, or
degrading punishment. Credible reports indicate that prisoners, including female
prisoners, are not subject to systematic torture in the Bahraini
prisons.[xx] Female criminals are held separately from men, and women
are not required to have a male custodian in order to be released. Foreign
workers, particularly domestic workers, on the other hand, often face torture,
humiliation, and degrading treatment at the hands of their sponsors. Courts have
looked into torture allegations of domestic workers, but female victims often
tend to drop their cases due to fear, isolation, and lengthy court procedures,
opting to return to their home countries instead of prosecuting the
perpetrators.[xxi]
The
penal code of Bahrain addresses violence and harm to the physical safety of men
and women, as well as gender-based violence such as rape, sexual harassment, and
physical abuse. However, there are no legal protections against domestic
violence. Women in Bahrain tend not to report domestic violence until it reaches
intolerable levels. A study conducted by Dr. Banna Bou Zaboon revealed that of the 712 cases
of violence recorded by the Bahrain Defense Forces Hospital in 2001–02, 281 were
cases of women who had been abused by their husbands.[xxii] While a few victims of domestic
abuse are granted divorce, Shari’a judges often regard acts of violence against
women by close relatives such as fathers, brothers, or husbands as a right
guaranteed to the relatives by religion and laws.[xxiii]
While Bahrain’s labor laws do not address sexual
harassment in the workplace, Articles 350 and 351 of the penal code specify
punishment for any indecent act in public or by telephone. Article 350 states
that any person who commits an act of indecency with a female should be liable
for punishment even when the act is not committed in public. Many women are
embarrassed to file complaints of this nature for fear of damaging their
reputations or professional careers. These same laws are also implemented to
punish women, specifically unmarried females who engage in consensual sexual
activity, which is considered a crime in Bahrain’s customary law and the Shari’a.
Women’s societies and other NGOs in Bahrain have not yet
been able to convince victims of violence to break their walls of silence. Two
women’s societies in Bahrain have established legal and social counseling
centers, but these groups currently work to address the impact of violence
rather than its prevention.
Recommendations
1.
The government should enact family laws that are non-discriminatory and expand
women’s human rights.
2.
The government should criminalize domestic violence and adopt procedures to
allow women, including foreign women and domestic workers, to report violence.
3.
The government should enact the necessary laws to prosecute those who traffic in
persons and ensure that victims of trafficking are not criminalized and have
access to supportive services, rehabilitation, and legal aid.
4.
The government, the Supreme Council for Women, and independent NGOs should
monitor women’s working conditions in both the public and private sectors and
appoint female labor inspectors.
Economic
Rights and Equal Opportunity
Bahrain’s economy is geared toward the diversification of
national income through the development of small- and medium-size industries.
The free economic environment has encouraged small entrepreneurs, including
women, to enter the business marketplace for the first time. Nevertheless, a
number of factors work to create a hostile business environment for women. The
monopolization of the market by a few individuals and large companies, social
beliefs that private business is a male’s domain, and women’s lack of
familiarity with and access to the intricacies of commercial and industrial
procedures all pose obstacles to women’s progress in Bahrain’s economic sphere.
Women can legally own, sell, and rent land, real estate,
and property in Bahrain. However, women often authorize a male relative such as
a father, brother, or husband to take charge of and manage their properties. The
male-dominated nature of the real estate business, combined with the
time-consuming and burdensome procedures involved in managing property are often
influential factors that weigh on a woman’s decision to pass on this
responsibility to a male. Women often have additional family responsibilities
placed upon them by society that limit their time.
The
Islamic Shari’a in Bahrain commits the husband to support his wife and family
financially. Women in Bahrain can open their own bank accounts and manage their
income. In most households women generally administer the domestic budgets;
however, there are also cases in which working wives hand over their salaries to
their husbands out of fear of divorce. Working wives or daughters often
contribute to family living expenses. Despite a woman’s financial contributions,
social customs and a lack of economic policies that benefit women dictate that
the house is most often registered in the husband’s name. These conditions tend
to place women, particularly wives, in a position of financial insecurity and
disadvantage in matters of divorce.
Women inherit from their husbands, fathers, and brothers
in accordance with the interpretation of Shari’a. Non-Muslim women cannot
inherit from their Muslim husbands, while Shi’a wives may inherit movable items
but not land. In Shi’a practices in Bahrain, daughters without brothers inherit
everything from their deceased father, while a Sunni relative from the father’s
lineage will share the inheritance with the Sunni daughters if there is no
son.
Statistics on the proportion of businesses in Bahrain
owned by women demonstrate a noticeable increase recently, from 24.30 percent in
2001 to 30.60 percent in 2002.[xxiv] The number of female members of the Bahrain Chamber of
Commerce and Industry reached 1,785 in 2003.[xxv] Even
though some women administer their own businesses, men still manage the majority
of female-owned firms. This is partly due to the time required to administer a
business, as well as the fact that Bahraini men often want to circumvent the law
that prohibits employees in the public sector from owning private businesses.
Men who work in the public sector will often register their private business
under the name of a female relative but manage it themselves.
A
free education system is provided in Bahrain through the secondary level, and a new education law making education
compulsory for six to fifteen year olds was approved by parliament in
May of 2004. The number of girls enrolled in intermediate and secondary
schools during the 2001–02 school year exceeded that of boys.[xxvi] In
fact, women outnumber men in most of the colleges in Bahrain, with the main
exception being the college of engineering (3,079 males and only 1,337
females).[xxvii] Women do not have the same opportunities as men in
vocational education, which trains
workers in such fields as industry, mechanical maintenance, and carpentry, among
others. Bahrain’s labor
market does not openly accept women in these occupations, and social customs and
traditions often impede women from pursuing such careers.
Female students in Bahrain tend to specialize in fields
that enable them to work as teachers. Government jobs with daily shifts that
permit women to maintain a balance between careers and family are also popular.
Competition and over-qualification are contributing to an increase in the
unemployment rate among female graduates;[xxviii] the
public sector cannot absorb more employees, and the private sector prefers to
hire men.
Bahrain’s labor laws do not prohibit or provide
protections against gender-based discrimination in the workplace. Hiring
discrimination is evident in Bahrain’s private sector, where employers may be
reluctant to shoulder the financial responsibility of maternity leave, which
women employees are guaranteed under the labor laws. The Bahrain Human Rights
Society reported that in 2001–02, a number of female graduates who had
specialized in mechanical engineering had been discriminated against because of
their gender and were not employed in factories in the private sector.[xxix] The
government has not taken any action against employers guilty of gender
discrimination.
In
addition to discrimination in hiring, Bahraini female employees are also subject
to unequal wages for equal work. Female workers often fail to receive equal job
training opportunities and are trained in marginal skills that are not in demand
in the labor market.[xxx] Furthermore, women are not guaranteed equality in
promotion opportunities. This disparity is exemplified in the industrial sector,
where only one woman holds a decision-making position and just three women fill
supervisory roles.[xxxi] Women are also absent in senior management positions in
the academic field even though they comprise the majority of
teachers.
Under Bahrain’s labor laws, women in the public sector
are entitled to 45 days of maternity leave starting with the day of delivery.
This provision does not meet International Labor Organization standards. Female
public employees are allocated one hour per day for four months to breast-feed
their babies. Women in the private sector receive 45 days’ maternity leave and
15 days’ leave without pay, plus a daily one-hour break to breast-feed their
babies for two years. Moreover, Article 63 of the labor law declares that a
female employee in the private sector may not be fired as a result of marriage,
pregnancy, or maternity leave.
Labor laws regulating private-sector employment tend to
have a larger number of gender-based provisions. For instance, women in the
private sector are prohibited from working between the hours of 8 p.m. and 7 a.m., with the exception of hospital
employment. Women are also not allowed to work in hazardous places (undefined)
that might jeopardize their health and/or the health of their baby (Article
60).
With the help of Almostkbal (a women’s NGO), women in the
ready-made garment industry can belong to an established trade union that
protects the rights of female workers. This union is one of the first of its
kind in Bahrain. Furthermore, women’s groups have helped to secure jobs for
low-income women through job training. In 1998, the UNDP and the government of
Bahrain initiated a project, now implemented by the Awal Women’s Society and the
Child and Mother Welfare Society, to grant small loans to some 10,000 low-income
women to start their own micro businesses.[xxxii]
Recommendations
1.
The Ministry of Trade, working with the Bahrain Businesswomen’s Society, women’s
rights NGOs, and the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, should encourage
more women to establish their own businesses and work with banks to facilitate
loans and financial training for women.
2.
The National Assembly should amend the labor laws to prohibit gender-based
discrimination at the workplace and violence against domestic workers, appoint
labor inspectors to monitor the working conditions of domestic workers, and
establish complaint mechanisms for women to report violations.
3. The Ministry of Education should work to eliminate all
gender discrimination in education and permit the enrollment of women in
vocational schools.
Political
Rights and Civic Voice
While women were prohibited from participating in the
country’s first democratic elections in 1973, both the National Charter,
approved in February 2001, and the 2002 Constitution guarantee women’s suffrage
and political participation. Article 1, Paragraph E, of the Constitution of the
Kingdom of Bahrain now clearly states, “all citizens, both men and women, are
entitled to vote and to stand for elections, in accordance with this
constitution and in the conditions and principles laid down by law. No citizen
can be deprived of the right to v
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