Bahraini women’s political rights during king's era

The "Bahraini Women in the Era of Hamad" book, published by the Supreme Council for Women (SCW) in 2008, devoted its fourth chapter to the political rights of the Bahraini women during HM King Hamad's prosperous era.The chapter stated that His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s keynote speech during the kingdom’s celebrations of the National Day in 2001, in which he asserted that "Women’s involvement in the political process represents a stabilizing factor given their natural responsibilities in the family and society", ushered a new phase in women’s march.It affirmed that women’s attempts to receive their rights started as early as the pre-Independence period, continued after it and culminated in them being granted political rights through the constitution of 2002.It said that Bahraini women's newly-acquired rights were made even more real through the Laws approved by HM King Hamad for the sake of regulating their political participation.Laws included:Decree by-Law No. (35) of 2001 on the Municipalities Act guaranteed women the right to vote and stand as candidates for municipal councils.Decree by-Law No. (3) of 2002 on election of municipal councils’ members, reasserting, in its second article, the right of all Bahraini citizens, men and women, to stand for elections in municipal elections.Decree by-Law (14) of 2002 on Exercise of Political Rights states that: "Citizens, both men and women, shall have the right to state an opinion in every referendum conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and to elect members of the Representatives Council".Decree by-Law No. (15) of 2002 on the Shura and Representatives Councils affirmed the right of women to stand as candidates and vote at elections of the Representatives Council. It also made no distinction between the sexes concerning the right to be appointed as a member of the Shura Council.It added that the legal framework needed for the activation of women’s political rights was made complete, noting that HM the King added another dimension to this momentum by considering competence as an integral component of citizenship, which paved the way for women’s accession to leadership positions in the Executive Branch as well as the Judicial and the Legislative ones.Chapter four of the book identified and analysed women’s achievements in the field of political rights during HM King Hamad’s Era, with sections one and two focusing on women’s role in the Executive, Judicial and Legislative Branches and section three on their role in political associations.