ArabicNews.com
Bahrain, Politics, 11/13/2003
With the great multilevel progress achieved in the last few years in Bahrain, and recognized by many including the opposition, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights submitted to the UN committee in charge of discrimination a report under the title “discrimination and privileges in the Kingdom of Bahrain: the unwritten law.”
The chapters of the report are distributed under the following titles: Discrimination against women on assuming public higher posts; discrimination in employment in public works against persons from the Shiite community; Sectarian discrimination in employment in the attorney general, the shoura council and the parliament; Sectarian discrimination regarding religious beliefs practices; and high ranks posts which are acquired by al-Khaleifa family members.
ArabicNews.com
Bahrain, Politics, 11/13/2003With the great multilevel progress achieved in the last few years in Bahrain, and recognized by many including the opposition, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights submitted to the UN committee in charge of discrimination a report under the title “discrimination and privileges in the Kingdom of Bahrain: the unwritten law.”
The chapters of the report are distributed under the following titles: Discrimination against women on assuming public higher posts; discrimination in employment in public works against persons from the Shiite community; Sectarian discrimination in employment in the attorney general, the shoura council and the parliament; Sectarian discrimination regarding religious beliefs practices; and high ranks posts which are acquired by al-Khaleifa family members.
In the report which included charters and special lists on the aforesaid titles about Bahrain, the Kingdom which is composed of 33 islands, the largest of which is the island of Bahrain which is inhabited by the population majority. Bahrain’s population ( according to 2003 statistics ) is about 650,600 inhabitants, 38% of them are foreign workers.
Bahrain won its independence from Britain in 1970 and witnessed after that a democratic experience of just two years between 1973- 1975. With the accession of Sheikh Hamad to power after the death of his father in march 1999, Bahrain was declared as a constitutional Kingdom in which the King appoints members of the government and senior employees in the executive authority.
The King also appoints members of the higher council for judiciary and members of the constitutional court. He also appoints members of the Shoura council who compose half the members of the national council. The King takes part, together with the national council in issuing legislations. Al-Khaleifa family affiliates a tribal Sunni origin which the majority of the people belong to Urbanism of Sunni and Shiite people, some of them are of Persian origin. The Shiite sect constitutes 70% of the total number of the population.
Excerpts from the “Bahrain Center for Human Rights ” said that “despite the dominance of members of the Shiite community within the society, however, their rate in higher governmental posts is low, and rather null in certain governmental establishments. Statistics stated in this report said that the rate of higher jobs occupied by members belong to the Shiite sect constitute only 18% of the total employments in governmental establishments. There are 9 higher governmental posts where the Shiite are not included.
However the post of the minister is only given to 10 Shiite out of 47 while they have 7 posts for ministry secretary out of 61 and three out of 23 are ambassadors.
According to the report, woman are not more fortunate in occupying higher posts in Bahrain. woman occupy a rate of 26% of the total labor force in 2001 while women occupy 8% of the higher posts covered by the report. There are 16 ministries and governmental sides where women do not have any leading post, while women of al-Khaleifa family occupy the most important posts like two ministries secretaries, university reactor and an ambassador.
Members of al-Khaleifa family to which the king affiliates enjoys priveliges concerning higher posts. Though this family constitutes just 1% of the population rate, however, they assume 17% of the higher governmental posts. This rate increases with the higher degree of the post where it is 51% in the post of the minister. These include the post of the Cabinet presidency and basic ministries like defense, the interior, security and judiciary. Members of this family assumes important posts like “regions governors, heads of courts, reactor of university and the higher council for woman.