Manama: Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa issued a Royal Decree including a number of appointments with two Bahraini women as director-general of the Capital Secretariat and the Northern Municipality, namely Shawqiya Ibrahim Humaidan and Lamia Yousef Al-Fadhala as the first two ladies to assume this position in the history of the Kingdom of Bahrain. They will, therefore, be responsible for promoting municipal work in two of the four governorates in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
The Supreme Council for Women in the Kingdom of Bahrain, chaired by Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, decided to dedicate this year’s “Bahraini Women’s Day” (2018) to celebrate the contributions of Bahraini women in the legislative and municipal fields. The objective of this occasion is to highlight the obstacles and opportunities presented to women in these unconventional fields of work. It also coincides with the passage of almost 100 years of the establishment of the first municipal structure in Bahrain which has allowed Bahraini women in since the 1930s to participate in, thus displaying the first form of early political participation for women.
The attainment of two women in senior administrative positions in the field of municipal work in the Kingdom of Bahrain is a new addition to the developing level of participation of Bahraini women in public affairs; where the proportion of women in leadership and decision-making positions in the executive authority is 40%. That includes ministers and women of ministerial rank, undersecretaries, and assistant undersecretaries. Moreover, the proportion of women in the legislative authority is 15%. The judicial authority also witnesses a qualitative presence for women such as in the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Judicial Council; that, in addition, to high rates of participation in the public prosecution and diplomatic posts.