All citizens are equal before the law in terms of rights and duties, without discrimination amongst them because of gender, according to IAA statement issued on Sunday.
An Information Affairs Authority (IAA) Official slammed the accusations made at Al-Wefaq Islamic Society’s press conference about the oppression of women in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Enhancing the status of women has been crucial in the progress and development of the nation, something noted by His Majesty King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa last week when he recognized the historic inclusion of four women MP’s in Lower House in the opening session of Parliament and highlighted their desire to serve Bahrain and help to overcome the challenges being faced.
The official pointed out that the National Action Charter (passed in 2000), safeguards the rights of women stating: “All citizens are equal before the law in terms of rights and duties, without discrimination amongst them because of gender.” Moreover, the charter guarantees political rights for both men and women, especially voting rights and the right to seek nomination for public office.
The IAA official went on to note that a 2009 Human Rights Watch report pointed out that when Bahrain “passed its first written personal status law [for women] it only included Sunnis” because Al-Wefaq Islamic Society, which ironically now claims to be supporting women’s rights, resisted all attempts to pass comprehensive legislation safeguarding the rights of women, stating that the right to reform the law is solely in the responsibility of religious scholars.
“Looking at the history of Al-Wefaq Islamic Society’s position on women, it’s hard to take them seriously now as advocates for women’s rights. They’ve never allowed a woman to run for Parliament on their platform and they called for mass demonstrations in the past to ensure that Shiite women would not be included in legislation that would improve the status of women under the law, especially in regard to family law. It is perhaps the greatest irony that the resignation of their MPs earlier this year opened the door to greater participation of women in elected office,” the IAA official added.
“The Kingdom of Bahrain does not advocate the abuse of Human Rights. The allegations of mistreatment of those sentenced for crimes in the Kingdom of Bahrain are of grave concern to us. With the appointment of an investigative Independent Commission of experts in the field of Human Rights and International Law (chaired by Distinguished Professor Cherif Bassiouni) we expect to get at the truth of what took place in Bahrain from February 14 onward. It is in the interest of the entire nation.”