First Gulf woman assured election to parliament in Bahrain

dpa German Press Agency
Published: Tuesday October 17, 2006

Manama- A Bahraini became the first woman elected to a Parliament in the gulf region on Monday, as she remained unopposed in her constituency as the candidate registration period expired in Bahrain. Latifa Mohammed Ahmed al-Gaood, 50, was the only one of 220 parliamentary candidates to win her constituency even before campaigning begins for the November 25 elections.

Al-Gaood, director of human resources at the Bahraini Ministry of Finance, won the seat for the sixth constituency in the Southern Governorate, after her candidacy application had been approved earlier.

News of her assured victory overshadowed a last-minute decision by Parliament Chairman Khalifa al-Dhahrani to run in the upcoming elections, after reports in the local press quoted him saying that he was not intending to run.

Three out of the 40 districts attracted double-digit candidates, with 13 registered in the second district in the capital, followed by the fifth district in Muharraq with 11 and the seventh district in the Central Governorate with 10.

Al-Gaood's victory will not be official until declared by the Minister of Justice, according to the judge supervising the Southern Governorate candidacy registration centre.

Her surprise walkover win raised further hopes for other women running in next month's elections, as earlier reports suggested that at least two of the 40 parliamentary seats would go to them.

Al-Gaood was one of eight women who ran for a parliamentary seat in 2002, but she lost to Islamist MP Jassim al-Saeedi in the second round of elections, when she was then contesting the first constituency in the same governorate.

None of the 30-plus women who ran for a municipal or parliamentary seat in the 2002 elections won.

Following their poor performance in the 2002 elections, six women including a Christian and a Jew were appointed to the Shura Council, the second chamber of the Bahraini National Assembly.

The wife of Bahrain's King and chairwoman of the Supreme Council of Women (SCW), Shaikha Sabika bint Ibrahim al-Khalifa, in the past several years has been seen as the driving support for the political empowerment programme for women.

"Exclusion of women means squandering of citizens productivity and creativity," she was quoted telling the second meeting of the Arab Women's Organization (AWO) in June 2005 in Bahrain.

Bahrain now has two female cabinet ministers. Dr Nada Haffadh became Bahrain's first female minister after being appointed health minister in 2004, and Dr Fatima al-Belushi was appointed in 2005 as minister of social development.

Shura member Alees Samaan, the only Christian member of the council, became the first woman to chair a parliamentary session in the Arab world in April 2005, when she chaired the Shura Council.

A Bahraini woman, Shaikha Haya bint Rashid al-Khalifa became president in June of the 61st session of the UN General Assembly, making her the first Arab woman and only the third woman to ever hold the post.

The 61st session of the UN General Assembly was tasked with selecting a new UN Secretary General and is preparing to discuss reforming the 60-year-old world body to make it more effective and responsive to global needs.

The 53-year-old Shaikha Haya, a lawyer by profession, was one of the first two Bahraini women to practise law since 1975 in Bahrain and fought to advance women's rights in Islamic courts.

Meanwhile, Bahrain appointed Mona Jassim al-Kawari as a civil court judge, making her the first woman to hold such a position in the Gulf.

Earlier this month Public Prosecutor Amina Isa became the first woman in Bahrain to represent the Public Prosecution office in formal court hearings, when she appeared in front of a judge in a juvenile case.

More than half of the electorate in Bahrain are women, according to 2002 figures.

Following his rise to power in 1999, Bahrain's king, Sheikh Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa introduced massive reforms that included the reintroduction of parliamentary life along with economic and social reforms, after the suspension of Bahrain's first parliament in 1975.

© 2006 dpa German Press Agency