Bahrain View Bahrain Eye on Events
An additional feat added to the list of achievements by Bahraini women, first time, in the history of the Kingdom of Bahrain, two ladies have assumed the position of the director general of two municipalities. Shawqiya Ibrahim Humaidan and Lamia Yousef Al-Fadhala, who was appointed as the director-general of the capital Secretariat by the Northern Municipality on July 18, would undertake the responsibility of promoting municipal work in two to four governorates in the Kingdom.
Chaired by Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, the Supreme Council of Women in the island, came up with the decision to celebrate the contributions of Bahraini women in the legislative and municipal fields, by dedicating this year to ‘Bahraini Women’s day.’ The objective being highlighting the obstacles and opportunities gifted to women in the unconventional fields of work, it also coincided with the establishment of the first municipal structure of almost 100 years, that paved way for the women of Bahrain since the 1930s to participate, thus displaying the first form of early political participation for women.
This recent achievement is a new addition to the level of women’s participation in public affairs, where the proportion of women in leadership and decision-making positions in the executive authority is nearly 40%. Including ministers and women of ministerial rank, undersecretaries and assistant undersecretaries with the proportion of women in legislative authority being 15%, the judicial authority also witnessed a qualitative presence for women such as in the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Judicial Council, in addition to high rates of participation in the public prosecution and diplomatic posts.
