Ladies in Politics in Bahrain - Coursework Example

Women in Politics in Bahrain Introduction The Arab region, which has been long associated with considerable political activity such as domestic and regional conflicts and wars, remains to lag behind other nations with regards to the political status and involvement of their female citizens. The region has been ranked as one of the world’s regions that scored the lowest in the Gender Empowerment Measure as well as the region with the lowest number of females in the parliament (Rizzo, Meyer, and Ali 2002). Therefore, women’s political status and privileges in the Arab regions are of great significance. In the Middle East, the past decade has marked an increase in democratization, including expanded elections for the national government. Researchers have noted that the equality and freedom experienced by women have been entwined with the process towards democratization (Faqir 1997). Although they have been granted with personal and community rights, power-sharing, autonomy, equality, dignity, and integrity, women’s rights for political involvement are strictly limited. Although countries in the Middle East have made agreements that all their citizens are granted equal rights and privileges, many of these nations have not been able to provide women with the opportunity to vote as well as the privilege for citizenship (Gerami 1994). It has also been found out that Muslim societies are less likely to provide considerable support for the promotion of equal rights and choices among women; they are also less lenient towards the tolerance for individual autonomy and freedom. Therefore, these suggest that there is a lack of political participation from the women in the Muslim society due to such strict attitudes toward trust, gender equality, and personal freedom, which are the traits attributed to established democratic systems (Human Rights Watch 2001). Most often, government institutions and political systems associate the privileges and opportunities of women to the role that they play as a wife or a daughter of any male individual, therefore making them into second-class citizens who remain dependent on the male population for their growth and survival. Associating political benefits to family relationships rather than to individuals has distinguished Middle East countries from those of the West (Meyer, Rizzo, and Ali 2001). It has also been reported that women in this region either win or lose fundamental political and other legal forms of protection from patriarchies and non-democratic groups, either within or outside the religious sector. This paper, therefore, aims to examine the representation of women in politics particularly in Bahrain. It also aims to explain the reasons behind the constrained rights and privileges of the female population in the Middle East and how Pateman’s (1998) sexual contract can be applied in this context II. Main Body Political Rights and Status of Women in the Middle East As the Arab world has experienced considerable political upheaval and severe socio-economic circumstances, women in the region were driven to establish their path to become involved with a civic society (Rizzo, Abdel-Latif, and Meyer 2007). The participation of women in the Arab labor force has been at a generally low level; however, their political involvement in either elected or appointed positions have been lower, at an average of 7% very much less than half of all countries’ average . Nation building in Islamic countries has influenced the political status of the female population owing to several possibilities, as asserted by Kandiyoti (1991). First is that, with Islam, women are provided with rights to strengthen the nations’ power and make it conform to the acknowledged rules and standards. The males, however, retain their privileges and benefits with regards to political involvement and other aspects such as marriage or inheritance laws, as interpreted by Islam (Faqir 1997). A second possibility for restrictions in women’s political rights is state consolidation as governments in the Middle East have been faced with certain challenges in weighing out various cultural, ethnic, religious, and kinship concerns with those of national interests. This includes establishing a society that rightfully addresses the duties and obligations of a community and engaging more sectors from the entire population, including women, in the process for economic development (Moghadam 1998). Because of the government’s attempts in having a firm control over all communities, it has led to different consequences such as that of their policies and standards with regards to women. Finally, international demands and trends have also created an impact on the status and privileges of the female population. Due to the migration of residents from poor countries to the Gulf region as well as the intensity of political power and cash flow in the Gulf towards the less privileged nations, Islamist movements have continuously gained strength (Faqir 1997). Countries have responded to this by exerting stronger control over the behavior and restriction of rights among women. Economy privatization, developments driven by exports, and considerable reserves for development projects in the international context have all contributed to the increase of international participation in the growth of local economies. Therefore, these have helped increase the involvement of the female population in the workforce, particularly in the labor market’s informal sectors that offer low pay. Additionally, the United Nations has been assertive on national governments to place more emphasis on the participation of women in development projects, understand their role as they face the challenges of poverty, increasing birth rates, lack of education, and put a stop to discrimination of any form. Aside from these avenues, a number of factors have still been shown to influence the granting of rights and privileges to women in the Middle East. For instance, patriarchy remains to be a strong force that continues to hamper the advancement of women in the Arab world (Fish 2002). The integration of patriarchy with traditional interpretations of religious messages and cultural stereotyping has long developed a firm barrier in the Arab society with regards to the involvement of the female population in public activities (Esmer 2002). The hierarchical structure of their society, especially with the emphasis on patriarchy, can be a great contributor to these circumstances. Moreover, it has become a challenge for many nations in the Middle East to accept the current state of affairs and to be instinctively fearful of change. Similarly, the conservative social norms and practices in the Middle East that have enthused about the role of women in the private setting while establishing obstacles to their involvement in the public sphere still remain to be a crucial concern in many of the region’s countries (Moaddel 2006). Even the World Bank views such gender roles within the domestic environment as being molded by a conventional standard for gender which assumes that the most relevant contribution that can be carried out by women would be their family roles, as mothers and household managers. While this paradigm has been suggested as an explanation behind the low levels of female involvement in the workforce, this can be highly relevant to elucidate the low levels of women’s participation in political responsibilities and community life, in general. Such gender standards are primarily based upon four notions- (1) that the family, not the individual, is the society’s most important unit, (2) that the male remains to be the only breadwinner in the family, (3) that the family’s reputation and dignity lie on the woman’s character, hence, controlled interactions between males and females, and (4) and that power is unequally weighed out in the private sphere based on family laws, thereby influencing women’s participation in the public sphere’s activities and processes. Accordingly, such standards for gender roles assume that the responsibility of a man to provide support and protection for his wife and children give him a good reason for having dominant control over his wife and her involvement with public activities (Schlozman, Burns, Verba, and Donahue 1995). It has also been pointed out that although legal documents declare women to be citizens of their country, multiple rights and privileges are still not granted to the female population. Although many women in the Middle East have been granted political rights, their citizenship remains truncated if they do not obtain full rights to participate in economic and social activities. Research has also suggested that women in the Middle East do not actively participate in politics due to the fact that such setting cannot be called a secure and stable one, hence the need to emphasize human security and make sure that females can become freely involved in political processes with no threats or oppression (Tohidi and Baynes 2001). Closely associated with the lack of autonomy and democracy in Middle East countries would be the electoral laws and processes that they implement and follow, and with regards to women, there have been concerns about gender-sensitive systems and policies (Karatnycky 2002) with which, aside from a few with which quota systems were integrated, have normally not been sensitive to gender equality. Political Involvement of Women in Bahrain Women in Bahrain have long been contributing to their nation’s growth and development since the 1920’s as the government began to provide them with formal education through the establishment of educational institutions (Al-Najjar 2005). Holding their positions in the government as well as in private sector organizations, they were given opportunities to work alongside the males to promote Bahrain’s development and utilize their competencies. However, during the beginning of the 20th century, further emphasis on women became the primary goal of the National Action Charter, which implemented laws and practices that will offer protection to women and their families. Moreover, the charter highlighted the right of women to become involved in public affairs and be given political rights to be able to vote and be elected for public office (UN and Kingdom of Bahrain 2003). The Supreme Council for Women was also established in 2001due to Bahraini women’s efforts to gain institutionalization and reinforce their status. Eventually, to be granted with political rights and privileges for voting and being nominated and local and parliamentary elections became a considerable improvement for the female population as they were allowed to participate with men in the process of nation building. Granting political rights to women became a foundation of King Hamad’s restructuring of political processes, and the provision of equal rights for political involvement among women was associated with an uncertain force for the promotion of females to hold authoritarian positions in the Bahraini government. However, ambiguity in the granting of political rights was evident, especially from various units of the society. In 2001, even more than half of the women in Bahrain were in opposition for being provided with the privilege to vote and be nominated for public elections (Jamsheer 2006). Nonetheless, due to political and democratic changes in Bahrain, the country has gone through a significant stage with which women became more empowered and were given the opportunity to effectively practice their role in the society. At present, the nation’s women have been appointed or elected to high positions in the administration in various ministries, organizations, and institutions due to their high levels of educational attainment, thereby allowing them to improve their positions from being mere recipients to active participants in the process for decision making (US Department of State 2007). Although there was a high percentage of female participation (49%), their candidates for the 2002 municipal elections were significantly fewer than those of men (11 out of every 100, respectively). Similarly, although the rate of women’s participation in the parliamentary elections (49%) was somewhat satisfactory, there were only 4 female candidates for every 100 men. Although a large number of women were elected for local and parliamentary positions, none of them had been successfully elected. It was also evident that the female candidates were absent from the Islamic parties’ lists such as the Al-Menbar Islamic Society. From 2004 to 2005, several female ministers were elected to office while others were appointed positions in the parliament’s upper chamber. Significantly, with regards to women’s membership in Bahrain’s main legislative body, their involvement has increased from 10% in 2001 to 25% in 2006. Nevertheless, the existence of the Supreme Council for Women continues to promote women’s status and empower women in Bahrain to take on larger roles in the development of their nation by promoting wider awareness of their competencies and abilities, making certain that protection is available for their rights and privileges, and providing assistance to manage problems in various settings (Supreme Council for Women 2005). For instance, the SCW has played an important role in women’s empowerment and assist women’s engagement in different fields such as health, education and training, economy, and decision making. With the collaboration of the United Nations, a political program for empowerment has been developed to improve the status of women in the political setting by planning and implementing various workshops for training and awareness which provided education for women to help them prepare for future political participation (British Council, Bahrain 2005). It primarily aimed to support women’s use of their political rights and significantly improve their abilities, so as to allow them of free competition. Financial and technical assistance had also been provided to members of the female population who were shown to be capable of having political responsibilities. Due to the success of the program, many female candidates made up their decisions to run for elections in 2006. Despite very few of them being successfully voted into office, the United Nations perceive the elections to be successful as the female candidates were able to receive a higher number of votes compared to the average number of their male counterparts. Changes were also evident in the voters’ attitudes during the 2006 elections as criticisms toward women running for office were greatly reduced, suggesting their openness and acceptance of females in the society, particularly in the political setting. This has been a significant improvement as in 2002, the media negatively criticized female candidates as ineffective and irresolute. With regards to decision making, certain groups especially the Supreme Council for Women have contributed to the promotion of women’s rights in becoming involved with the decision making for the country. For instance, the National Strategy for the Empowerment of Bahraini Women focuses on the decision making roles of women and aims to enable women to take on decision making positions such as executive, legislative, and judiciary responsibilities as well as for carrying out tasks in the private sector and the larger community (Lawson 2003). Such strategy also intends to support qualified women by highlighting their competencies and accomplishments to become more known in the society and providing them with training opportunities to help them qualify for entering the domestic and international workforce. Organizations in the public and private sector were also asked to sign agreements with which they agreed to offer equal opportunities for women to be appointed to positions for decision making, protect their rights, and improve their status. At present, what remain to be the main challenges for Bahrain is the stereotyping of women’s image in their society, the integration of issues for women in the strategies of the government, false impressions of several religious beliefs, inheritance of traditional social concepts that hamper women’s personal and professional development, and the relatively low levels of female participation in higher decision making roles (Almezel 2003). Currently, a number of policies in Bahrain ensure that gender issues are carefully considered to be integrated into the government’s plans, encourage religious groups to help communicate messages that will support women in taking on decision making roles, as well as reconstruct conventional social practices and concepts that undervalue women and their role in the society. Review of Pateman’s (1988) Sexual Contract Pateman (1988) emphasized the relationship between men and women that men can generally control and dominate over women. Classical patriarchalism has shifted towards modern patriarchy with which the contractual relationship of men to one another has changed, though their relationship with women remains the same. Power and control now lies not only in a small number of males; rather such authority has now been distributed over all members of the male population. A number of contracts for marriage, prostitute and surrogate motherhood have all expressed the generalized control of men over women, similar to the circumstances that women in Bahrain and other countries in the Middle East have been experiencing. Gender inequality has continuously been demonstrated by depriving women of their full citizenship rights, from political and economic privileges to social and cultural opportunities. According to Pateman (1988), the contract theory primarily allows the exercise of political rights through domination, influence, and subordination with which women become inferiors of men. This is the underlying driving force behind feminists who have attempted to promote equality between males and females as partners and citizens, and to establish connections with no coercion and violence involved. It has also been argued that the “public sphere”, which is masculine by nature, was developed through the establishment of the “private sphere”. The sexual contract, thus, implies the understanding that men and their status of being the head of their families give them a good reason for assuming the patriarchal power and influence of the king, thereby replacing paternity with fraternity. Such notions have not been made legal, though it has been long integrated into the people’s thoughts and practices. Generally, Pateman (1988) pointed out that there are limitations in the contract such as women becoming subordinate and that they primarily depend on their male counterparts to meet their needs and provide protection for them. Up to the present, marriage still remains to be a guarantee for satisfying the needs of women, although it is necessary for them to pay the price- obedience and dependence. Moreover, democracy cannot be attained my merely being granted the rights for voting in public elections; rather, there is a need for women to actively take part in all political activities and processes. However, the chances of the female population being involved in this form of democracy are low as the democratic freedom that people have been very much accustomed to is intrinsically masculine and represents a contemporary patriarchal structure, not under the rule of one father (king) but in the rule of men (Washington File 2003). Many countries in the Middle East still do not grant full citizenship rights to their female citizens. Aside from the suffrage rights, laws for the provision of rights for inheritance, social security, civil society, and other important components have not been capable of demonstrating gender equality as many women do not enjoy in the benefits that are obtained by their male counterparts (Inglehart and Norris 2003). Such examples demonstrate how men remain dominant over majority of all decisions made, from political activities to social responsibilities, as well as why women continue their attempts in attaining personal freedom, professional development, and gender equality. The factors that hamper the growth and advancement of women in the Middle East, particularly in the public sphere, remain complex and entwined as there are only a few opportunities that are available. Furthermore, there are no common strategies to promote the important role of women in the society as they normally vary from every experience, context, and country. Conclusion Discussions on the political representations and responsibilities of women in the society have resulted to further research on the important role that women should play in the political setting. Because of traditional concepts and norms, which emphasize the role of females to care for their families and homes, their rights and privileges in the public sphere have been undervalued. In Bahrain, it is evident that men have firm control over all systems and activities. Although political rights, such as the right for suffrage and nomination for elections have been granted to their female citizens, this has not been enough to enable women to obtain the benefits that men are provided with in their society. Moreover, despite being able to attain high levels of education, women in Bahrain have had limited opportunities to be appointed or elected for government positions that will enable them to participate in the decision making process. Pateman’s (1988) statements on the sexual contract highlights how being highly engaged in the private sphere has constrained women in participating in activities in the public sphere as this setting is inherently masculine and dominated by men. At present, major factors such as patriarchy, Islam religion, and economic developments have all been attributed to the restriction of female rights and privileges. Due to such occurrences, feminist movements under the private and public sector have been established in Bahrain and in other Middle East countries as well in order to improve the status and reputation of women in the society (Giugni 1998). Because patriarchal structures have been immensely integrated into the Arab society’s norms and practices, there should be a considerable effort in challenging this form of authority to reinforce the privileges of women. Civic education especially for voters has been shown to be undeveloped and conducted irregularly in many cases, and countries have responded to this by implementing gender-sensitive initiatives. Political experience and exposure for women should also be available to maximize their opportunities for candidacy and successful elections. Competency training and consultation for female candidates on relevant issues including communication, recruitment of volunteers, targeting of voters, and planning and implementation of field strategies, have been shown to result to successful outcomes at varying levels. These all suggest that considerable attention should be placed upon women’s issues in gaining appropriate rights and representations. References Al-Najjar, S 2005, Country reports: Bahrain, Women’s rights in the Middle East and North Africa, Citizenship and Justice, Freedom House, Inc., Washington, DC. Almezel, M 2003, Gradual nationalisation of security establishment, Gulf News, 4 September 2003. British Council, Bahrain 2005, Short term visitors notes, British Council, London. Esmer, Y 2002, Is There an Islamic Civilization?’, Comparative Sociology, vol. 1, pp. 265–298. Faqir, F 1997, Engendering democracy and Islam in the Arab world, Third World Quarterly, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 165–174. Fish, MS 2002, Islam and Authoritarianism, World Politics, vol. 55, pp. 4–37. Gerami, S 1994, ‘The role, place, and power of middle-class women in the Islamic Republic’, pp. 329–48 in Moghadam, VM (ed.) Identity Politics and Women, Westview Press, Boulder, CO. Giugni, MG 1998, Was it worth the effort? The outcomes and consequences of nsocial movements, Annual Review of Sociology, vol. 24, pp. 371–393. Human Rights Watch 2001, Human Rights Watch World Report 2001, Human Rights Watch, New York. Inglehart, RF, and Norris, P 2003, Rising tide: gender equality and cultural change around the world, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Jamsheer, G 2006, Women’s rights in Bahrain, Available at: http://chanad.weblogs.us/?p=516 Kandiyoti, D 1991, Women, Islam and the State, Middle East Report, vol. 21, pp. 9–14. Lawson, F 2003, Bahrain, Available at: http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/NISPAcee/UNPAN016025.pdf Moghadam, VM 1998, Women, work and economic reform in the Middle East and North Africa, Lynne Rienner Publishers, Boulder, CO. Moaddel, M 2006, The Saudi public speaks: religion, gender, and politics, International Journal of Middle East Studies, vol. 38, pp. 79–108. Pateman, C 1988, The sexual contract, Stanford University Press, Stanford. Rizzo, H, Meyer, K, and Ali, Y 2002, Women’s political rights: Islam, status and networks in Kuwait, Sociology, vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 639-662. Rizzo, H, Abdel-Latif, A-H, and Meyer, K 2007, The relationship between gender equality and democracy: a comparison of Arab Versus Non-Arab Muslim societies, Sociology, vol. 41, no. 6, pp. 1151–1170. Schlozman, KL, Burns, N, Verba, S, and Donahue, J 1995, Gender and citizen participation: is there a different voice?, American Journal of Political Science, vol. 39, pp. 267–293. Social Institutions and Gender Index 2010, Gender equality and social institutions, Available at: http://genderindex.org/country/bahrain Supreme Council for Women 2005, Women in decision making: kingdom of Bahrain, Available at: http://www.scw.gov.bh/default.asp?action=article&ID=838 Tohidi, N, and Baynes, JH 2001, ‘Women redefining modernity and religion in the globalized context’, in Baynes, JH, and Tohidi, N (eds) Globalization, gender and religion: the politics of women’s rights in Catholic and muslim contexts, pp. 17–60, Palgrave, New York, NY. UN and Kingdom of Bahrain (2003), Millennium Development Goals: First Report, UN and Kingdom of Bahrain, Manama. US Department of State (2007), Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Bahrain, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Washington, DC. Washington File 2003, Women in Bahrain Play a Crucial Role in National Development, Available at: http://usinfo.state.gov. Read More