Source : Ministry of Information.

IV. Violence against Women

(122)

Discrimination against women is manifested in family violence against women. All groups in Bahraini society are concerned with this serious issue, as demonstrated by the treatment of violence against women in educational campaigns undertaken by various women’s associations. The SCW has helped shed light on this issue by conducting serious, focused studies on cases of violence against women. Such cases have begun to be seen in divorce suits filed by women due to harm caused by spousal abuse. In this connection, the SCW has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Batelco Care Centre for Family Violence Cases, which is run by the Bahraini Association to Resist Family Violence. The memorandum includes a commitment by the SCW to provide financial support to the centre, cooperate with the centre in treating family violence cases through the use of the centre’s treatment services and facilities, cooperate in holding training courses and educational workshops, and exchange expertise and information concerning family violence cases.

The following table shows the types and number of crimes of violence against women:

Table 5: Crimes Against Women in 2001

No.	Crime	Total	Against women	%
1	Physical assault	4099	466	11.4
2	Rape	31	31	100
3	Violation of honour	135	23	17
4	Libel	1042	218	20.9
5	Insult	526	109	20.7
6	Indecent assault	130	21	16.2
Total	5963	868	14.6

Source : Ministry of Interior.

Table 6: Crimes Against Women in 2002

No.	Crime	Total	Against women	%
1	Physical assault	3205	625	19.5
2	Rape	15	15	100
3	Violation of honour	181	99	54.7
4	Libel	1056	284	26.9
5	Insult	687	187	27.2
6	Indecent assault	50	22	44
Total	5194	1232	23.7

Source : Ministry of Interior.

Table 7: Crimes Against Women in 2003

No.	Crime	Total	Against women	%
1	Physical assault	2070	574	27.7
2	Rape	16	16	100
3	Violation of honour	66	26	39.4
4	Libel	670	228	34
5	Insult	360	131	36.4
6	Indecent assault	25	12	48
Total	3207	987	30.8

Source : Ministry of Interior.

Table 8: Crimes Against Women in 2004

No.	Crime	Total	Against women	Percentage
1	Physical assault	3837	732	19.1
2	Rape	27	27	100
3	Violation of honour	123	44	35.8
4	Libel	1354	463	34.2
5	Insult	1025	206	20.1
6	Indecent assault	22	11	50
Total	6388	1483	23.2

Source : Ministry of Interior.

Paragraph 122 – Table A

Statistics on the Number of Crimes of Violence against Females (2005-2006)
No.	Type of Crime	2005	2006
Female children	Female adults	Female children	Female children
1	Physical assault	30	550	32	542
2	Attempted physical assault	-	10	-	9
3	Rape	1	16	1	11
4	Attempted rape	-	7	1	7
5	Indecent assault	15	40	16	42
6	Attempted indecent assault	-	3	-	1
7	Violation of honour (sodomy)	1	1	1	1
8	Libel and insult	3	280	2	315
Total	50	907	53	928

Source : Ministry of Interior.

Paragraph 122 – Table B: Domestic violence statistics (2005)

Data on aggressive husband

Age group	Educational level	No. of wives
<18	18-21	21-30	30-40	40-50	50-60	>60	Unknown	Tot.	Illit.	Prim.	Prep.	Sec.	Univ	Unknown	Tot.	1	2	3	4	Unknown	Tot.
	6	67	90	57	15	2	8	245	7	30	34	106	30	38	245	189	33	4		19	245

Employment	Nationality	No. of years of marriage
Unem-ployed	Pen-sioner	Labourer	Office worker	Self-employed	Profes-sional	Un-known	Tot.	Bahraini	Arab	Foreign	Tot.	<1	1-2	2-4	4-10	10-15	15-20	>20	Un-known	Tot.
14	9	36	119	6	22	39	245	231	11	3	245	8	22	25	47	36	14	30	63	245

Data on assaulted wife and details of assault

Age group	Educational level	Nationality
<16	16-18	18-21	21-30	30-40	40-50	50-60	>60	Unknown	Tot.	Illit.	Prim.	Prep.	Sec.	Univ.	Unlnown	Tot.	Bahraini	Arab	Foreign	Tot.
-	3	29	111	58	37	-	-	7	245	13	24	34	111	33	30	245	199	23	23	245

Employment	Type of assault	Degree of assault	Occurrence of assault	.
Housewife	Worker	Office worker	Selfemp.	Professional	Unknown	Tot.	Verbal	Bodily	Tot.	Simple	Intermed.	Grievous	Tot.	Once	2-4 times	Repeated	Continuous	Tot.
159	21	38	2	9	16	245	26	219	245	215	26	4	245	130	29	76	23	245

Domestic violence statistics (2006)

Data on aggressive husband

Age group	Educational level	No. of wives
<18	18-21	21-30	30-40	40-50	50-60	>60	Unknown	Tot.	Illit.	Prim.	Prep.	Sec.	Univ.	Unknown	Tot.	1	2	3	4	Unknown	Tot.
-	-	52	120	96	18	2	23	311	2	27	46	89	43	104	311	275	29	3	-	4	311

Source : Ministry of Interior.

(130)

Additional chambers in the shari’ah courts have been created, and work has begun on promoting the role of the Family Guidance Division in the courts. However, the promulgation of a family law, which will no doubt reduce family violence and violence against women is also needed.

Moreover, it is necessary to promote the media's role in educating Bahraini society about violence against women, the consequences thereof, and ways to protect against and treat such violence. Training programmes should be prepared for judicial, medical, social, educational, and police workers to enable them to deal with violence against women in a way that best protects female victims of violence and promotes the role of the social police in family violence cases.

II. Legislative Protection of Women and the Suppression of the Exploitation and Trafficking of Women

(133)

Bahraini legislation guarantees protection of women to safeguard their honour against anyone who would attempt to harm it. Prostitution is illegal. In this regard, Bahrain has joined the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its supplementary protocols, which are the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. Bahrain also joined the International Covenant on Human and Political Rights in 2006 under Law 56, and the International Covenant on Cultural, Economic and Social Rights in 2007 with Law 10. Bahrain ratified the Arab Charter on Human Rights with Law 7 (2006).

III. Current Situation and Future Outlook

(136)

Bahrain is making a special effort to deal with human trafficking problems, particularly the trafficking of women. It has formed an anti-trafficking task force comprising representatives of the concerned ministries to formulate a national strategy to suppress traffic in persons. An anti-human trafficking division has also been formed in the Ministry of Interior to prosecute persons involved in these crimes. The Bahraini legislature has recently adopted a law on the prevention of trafficking of persons (Law 1, 2008).

Many publications on the rights and duties of foreign workers have been issued in multiple languages for distribution to embassies and entry points. The Ministry of Labour has also established a hotline to receive complaints and provide advice, and it has appointed a number of inspectors to monitor the conditions of foreign workers.

2. Participation in Municipal Elections

(141)

Bahraini women voted and stood for municipal elections in 2002, exercising their political rights granted under the National Action Charter (NAC) and Amended Constitution, the most salient such right being equality with men regarding political rights. On 9 May 2002, 31 Bahraini women and 275 Bahraini men stood for municipal elections. Although no women made it to the second round, 51% and 55% of Bahraini women voted in the first and second rounds respectively. These percentages reflect the evolution of political awareness among women and their desire to participate in political life. In addition, five women stood for elections in 2006, compared to 160 males, although no woman won.

Number and Percentage of Municipal Council Candidates (2002-2006)

(Paragraph 141 – Table A)

	Women	Men
Number	%	Number	%
Municipal Council	31	10.1	275	89.9
5	3.1	160	96.9

Source : Central Information Agency.

Level of Women’s Participation in the 2002 Municipal Elections

(Paragraph 141 – Table B)

Men	Women
49%	51%

Source : Central Information Agency.

(142)

3. Participation in Parliamentary Elections

Bahraini women participated in parliamentary elections as candidates and voters in 2002. Eight women and 169 men stood for elections. No woman won. However, two women candidates reached the second round, and Bahraini women are expected to do better in future elections. The percentage of women who voted, 47.7%, is considered good given the novelty of the experience. Bahraini women also voted and ran in the 2006 parliamentary elections; 16 women and 190 men ran, and one woman won unopposed.(Source: Central Information Agency.)

In 2002, six women were appointed to the 40-member Consultative Council; in 2006, 11 were appointed. The Consultative Council is one of parliament’s chambers. It legislates alongside the Council of Representatives and is the only parliamentary chamber with a political function.

Level of Women’s Participation in the Parliamentary Elections (2002-2006)

(Paragraph 142 – Table A)

Year	Men	Women
2002	52.6%	47.4%
2006	49.8%	50.2%

Number and Percentage of Seats in the Parliamentary Council (2002-2006)

(Paragraph 142 – Table B)

Year	Women	Men
Number	%	Number	%
2002	0	0	40	100
2006	1	2.5	39	97.5

Source : Central Information Agency.

The following table shows the number and percentage of candidates in municipal and parliamentary in the first and second rounds of the 2002 elections according to sex.

Table 9

	Women	Men
Number	%	Number	%
Municipal Council	31	10.1	275	89.9
Parliamentary Council:
First round	8	4.2	169	95.8
Second round	2	4.3	44	95.7

Source : Central Information Agency.

The following table shows the number and percentage of candidates for municipal and parliamentary elections in 2006 according to sex.

Table 10

	Women	Men
Number	%	Number	%
Municipal Council	5	3.1	160	96.9
Parliamentary Council	16	7.7	190	92.3

Number and Percentage of Seats in the Consultative Council

(Paragraph 142 – Table C)

Year	Women	Men
Number	%	Number	%
2001	4	10.0	36	90.0
2002	6	15.0	34	85.0
2006	10	25.0	30	75.0
2007	11	27.5	29	72.5

Source : Central Information Agency.

Secondly, while the report mentioned nothing about the development of the participation of Bahraini women in the municipal elections, the levels of participation here indicate women’s progress in this area.

IV. Efforts to Date and the Future Outlook

(147)

The State is concerned with civil associations. The National NGOs Support Centre, which is subordinate to the Ministry of Social Development, is one of the projects participating in social development. Its objective is to improve the performance of civil associations by providing them with technical assistance and training to develop their capabilities. It also provides financial support through grants for institutional development and support of partnerships with civil associations in civil activity. Women’s associations received seven grants from the Ministry in 2006 and five in 2007.

In addition, Bahrain has seen major, intensive efforts to promote the general political participation of women, including the following: The Supreme Council for Women (SCW) has implemented an integrated “Political Participation Promotion and Political Empowerment Programme” designed to raise society’s awareness of the importance of women’s political participation. It urges women to exercise their political rights and trains women in political activity mechanisms and methods for succeeding in political activity by holding roundtables and workshops on these subjects in cooperation with the UNDP in Bahrain.

(156)

Bahraini women have achieved great gains in representation and participation at the international level. However, their participation in official duties abroad in various government agencies has dropped. In 2000, 357 women were sent abroad on missions, compared to 1870 men in the same year. In 2001, 419 women were sent abroad, compared to 2211 men. In 2002, 562 women were sent abroad, compared to 2649 men. In 2003, 415 women were sent abroad, compared to 2213 men. In 2004, 338 women were sent abroad, compared to 2227 men. Thus, action must be taken to increase the number of women sent abroad on missions and to boost women’s participation through coordination with government agencies and the concerned ministries. The following table shows the number and percentage of government employees sent on official missions abroad and within Bahrain, for each ministry and government organization and institution separately in 2006 and 2007:

Paragraph 156 – Table A

Ministry	2006	2007	Total	2006%	2007%
Females	Males	Females	Males	2006	2007	Female	Male	Female	Male
Ministry of Industry and Commerce	7	8	8	10	15	18	46.67	53.33	44.44	55.56
Ministry of Cabinet Affairs	0	8	1	11	8	12	0.00	100.00	8.33	91.67
Central Information Organization'	0	2	3	4	2	7	0.00	100.00	42.86	57.14
Civil Service Bureau	6	5	2	4	11	6	54.55	45.45	33.33	66.67
Ministry of Electricity and Water	9	16	5	6	25	11	36.00	64.00	45.45	54.55
Ministry of Education	7	16	5	6	23	11	30.43	69.57	45.45	54.55
General Organization for Youth and Sports	5	10	6	8	15	14	33.33	66.67	42.86	57.14
Ministry of Health	28	15	2	5	43	7	65.12	34.88	28.57	71.43
Ministry of Information	5	16	5	6	21	11	23.81	76.19	45.45	54.55
Supreme Judicial Council	2	4	2	4	6	6	33.33	66.67	33.33	66.67
Ministry of Justice	6	18	11	20	24	31	25.00	75.00	35.48	64.52
Ministry of Labour	8	10	8	15	18	23	44.44	55.56	34.78	65.22
Survey and Land Registration Organization	3	8	4	10	11	14	27.27	72.73	28.57	71.43
Legal Affairs Department	2	8	3	12	10	15	20.00	80.00	20.00	80.00
Ministry of Finance	1	6	2	8	7	10	14.29	85.71	20.00	80.00
Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture	7	10	9	11	17	20	41.18	58.82	45.00	55.00
National Oil and Gas Authority	1	10	2	13	11	15	9.09	90.91	13.33	86.67
Ministry of Social Development	7	10	8	14	17	22	41.18	58.82	36.36	63.64
Ministry of Transportation	9	8	8	9	17	17	52.94	47.06	47.06	52.94
Ministry of Works and Housing	8	10	8	11	18	19	44.44	55.56	42.11	57.89
Total	121	198	102	187	319	289	37.93	62.07	35.29	64.71

Source : Civil Service Bureau.

Ministry of Education

(170)

Female students registered in government schools account for 50.2% of the total number of registered students. In academic year [AY] 2005/2006, 64,868 females were registered in government schools out of a total of 129,110 students. In the same year, the number of female students registered in private schools increased to 15,542 out of a total of 34,378 students, compared to 12,473 female students out of a total of 28,055 students in private schools in AY 2002/2003.

(171)

The educating of women and gender equality in education in Bahrain are evidence of the Kingdom’s concern with women and tireless efforts to enhance the cultural and academic level of women. Gender equality applies to admission procedures at all educational levels. The following table shows the magnitude of the attention received by females in the field of education. It should be recalled that Bahrain was ranked number one among the Arab States in the Education for All Development Index two years running and on a par with those states with the highest index. It is also the only Arab country to achieve this level two years running, according to the Education for All Global Monitoring Reports of 2007 and 2008 published by UNESCO. This index represents an overall measurement of a country’s position with regard to achievement of four of the goals of Education for All namely: the provision of primary education for all (represented by the indicator of net enrollment at the primary stage), the eradication of adult illiteracy (represented by the rate of illiteracy eradication), gender parity (represented by the indicator of gender equality) and quality of education (represented by continuity up to the fifth grade of primary school).

Table 12: Bahrain ’s Population Age 15 and Higher According to Highest Educational Attainment in 1991 and 2001

Highest educational level	Men	Woman
%	No.	%	No.
1991
Secondary certificate	71.70	26124	73.49	22330
Post-secondary diploma	9.96	3627	10.78	3275
B.Sc. or B.A.	12.82	4669	12.29	3735
High Diploma	3.15	1148	2.64	802
Master’s Degree	1.76	641	0.62	189
Doctorate Degree	0.61	224	0.18	55
TOTAL	100.00	36433	100.00	30386
Secondary certificate	69.96	43232	70.15	42177
Post-secondary diploma	8.98	5550	10.31	6199
B.Sc. or B.A.	13.03	8049	14.34	8620
High diploma	4.68	2891	3.93	2363
Master’s Degree	2.56	1582	0.96	575
PhO.	0.79	490	0.32	190
TOTAL	100.00	61794	100.00	60124

Source : Bahrain , Ministry of Education, Educational Statistics Section.

(173)

The Ministry of Education issued a report for AY 2004/05 entitled “Starting Year for Implementing Development Projects – Completion of the Requirements for Developing and Converting to Electronic Education, Provision of Education for All and Illiteracy Eradication”. The report points to the deep interest in eliminating illiteracy completely, providing education for all, and developing education (expanding electronic education in particular) consistent with emerging needs. The following statistics show the extent of concern with education.

Paragraph 173 – Table A: Numbers of Administrative, Technical and Teaching Staff in Government Schools, by gender, in AY 2005/2006

Type	Administrative and technical	Teaching
Total	2102	10836
Females	1320	6618
Males	692	4218
Percentage of females to males	66	61

Source : Bahrain , Ministry of Education, Educational Statistics Section.

Paragraph 173 – Table B: Numbers of Female Administrative, Technical and Teaching Staff in Government Schools, by educational stage, in AY 2005/2006

Stage	Number
Primary	666
Preparatory	318
Secondary	336
Total	1320
Percentage of females to males	66

Source : Bahrain , Ministry of Education, Educational Statistics Section.

Paragraph 173 – Table C: Numbers of Female Bahraini Teachers in Government Schools in AY 2005/2006

Stage	Number
Primary	3434
Preparatory	1587
Secondary	1490
Total	6511
Percentage of females to males	70

Source : Bahrain , Ministry of Education, Educational Statistics Section.

Paragraph 173 – Table D: Numbers of Female non-Bahraini Teachers in Government Schools in AY 2005/2006

Stage	Number
Primary	43
Preparatory	34
Secondary	30
Total	107
Percentage of females to males	9

Source : Bahrain , Ministry of Education, Educational Statistics Section.

Paragraph 173 – Table D: Numbers of Female Employees in Ministry of Education Departments and Sections in AY 2005/2006

Type	Bahraini	Non- Bahraini	Total
Female workers in the Ministry of Education	678	4	682
Percentage of females to males	43

Source : Bahrain , Ministry of Education, Educational Statistics Section.

Table 16: Inductive Statistics on Non-Governmental Private Schools for AY 2005/06

Type of school	Sex	No. of educational institutions
National schools	Males	246
Females	1031
Percentage of males	19.26%
Percentage of females	80.74%
Total	1277
Foreign schools	Males	180
Females	1135
Percentage of males	13.69%
Percentage of females	86.31%
Total	1315
Schools of expatriate communities	Males	8
Females	29
Percentage of males	21.62%
Percentage of females	78.38%
Total	37
Grand total for males	434
Percentage of males	16.51%
Grand total for females	2195
Percentage of females	83.49%
Grand total for all educational institutions	2629

Source : Bahrain , Ministry of Education, Educational Statistics Section.

II. Women’s Right to Education under the NAC and Bahraini Constitution

(174)

The NAC and Constitution guarantee the right of everyone to education at all educational levels without discrimination. Article 7(a) of the Constitution stipulates, “The State sponsors the sciences, humanities and the arts, and encourages scientific research. The State also guarantees educational and cultural services to its citizens. Education is compulsory and free in the early stages as specified and provided by law. The necessary plan to combat illiteracy is laid down by law”.

To achieve the stipulations of the Constitution, Education Act 27 (2005) was promulgated on 15 August 2005, focusing on existing gains such as the right to education and free and compulsory education, and adopting future directions in the areas of teaching, learning, training, continuing education, regard for the talented, providing education and suitable programmes for those with special needs and other basic elements of education. It also sets the general framework for educational goals in the Kingdom of Bahrain and their points of reference.

Article 2 of the Education Act stipulates that education is a right guaranteed by the Kingdom of Bahrain to all citizens. Article 6 of this Act affirms the right to free education and the duty of the Kingdom to provide it, stipulating that basic education is the right of children who have reached the age of six by the start of the school year. The Kingdom undertakes to provide them with free education and parents or guardians shall be required to enforce this for at least nine school years. The Minister shall issue the necessary resolutions to regulate and implement the requirement in relation to parents and guardians.

Article 9 of the Act stipulates that basic and secondary education shall be free in the Kingdom’s schools.

In accordance with what the Constitution states regarding the eradication of illiteracy, Article 9 of the Education Act stipulates that the adult education and the eradication of illiteracy is a national responsibility aimed at raising the cultural, social and professional level of citizens. The Ministry shall undertake implementation of the necessary plans to eradicate illiteracy.

In the light of promulgation of the Education Act, the Ministry has begun formulation of the necessary plans to apply the clauses thereof and issuance of the executive regulations and resolutions of the Act.

Bahraini law does not distinguish between men and women regarding academic curricula, tests, and per-capita spending on public education.

The Bahraini legislator grants freedom to everyone to select a specialty, without imposing specific quotas for each specialty. Females may study the same subjects studied by males at all academic levels.

III. Percentage of Adults Able to Read and Write

(177)

Illiteracy in Bahrain has declined thanks to improved school enrolment rates and the Kingdom’s efforts to eliminate illiteracy. The Central Information Agency’s report on the 2001 census states the following:

Illiteracy in the Bahraini population fell significantly between the 1991 and 2001 censuses, reaching 7.5% for males, 17% for females, and 17.4% for both sexes in 2001 compared to 13.3% for males, 28.7% for females, and 21.0% for both sexes in 1991.

Illiteracy among Bahrainis age 10-44 (the age group that is most productive and capable of producing in the future) fell to 1.4% for males, 4.0%s, and 2.7% for both sexes in 2001, compared to 2.4% for males, 10.5% for females, and 6.4% for both sexes in 1991.(Source: Central Information Agency.)

53% of the Bahraini population age 18 and older have completed secondary school or higher according to the 2001 census, compared to 39.1% in 1991. (Source: Ministry of Education.)

These indicators point to Bahrain’s concern with eradicating illiteracy. Bahrain has strengthened the role of education and provided every facility to eliminate illiteracy in the Kingdom.

Table 17: Knowledge of Reading and Writing Among the 15-24 Age Group According to the 2001 Census

Sex	Population (15-24 years)	Know how to read and write (number)	Know how to read and write(%)	Gender equality index
Total	82598	82013	99.29%	1
Males	42410	42087	99.24%
Females	40188	39926	99.35%

Source : Central Information Agency.

IV. Illiteracy Eradication and Adult Education

(178)

The Ministry of Education organizes non-regular educational programmes for illiterate persons and persons who have become literate and wish to continue studying.

Illiteracy eradication and adult education centres have been established throughout Bahrain in both rural and urban areas for both males and females. They are free of charge and cover up to the intermediate level. Students earn the equivalent of an intermediate diploma upon completing the remedial stage, which qualifies them to continue studying at the secondary level in government schools, if they are at the appropriate age, or from home.

The Ministry of Education’s Continuing Education Department works to eradicate the remaining percentage of illiteracy among illiterate citizens of both sexes in the 10-44 age group. According to the 2001 populations census, illiteracy totalled 12.3% in the general population aged 15 and older, as shown in the following table:

Table 18: Percentage of Illiteracy Among Bahrainis Age 15 and Up (1971-2001)

	1971	1981	1991	2001
Males	46.4	25.2	13.3	7.5
Females	76.1	48.1	28.7	17.0
Both sexes	61.0	36.6	21.0	12.3

Source : Central Information Agency.

(179)

Bahrain is committed to the “United Nations Literacy Decade”, in which the countries of the world are called upon to lower illiteracy in each country by 50% of the illiteracy rate in 2003 by the beginning of 2012. Accordingly, the Ministry of Education has taken measures to reduce illiteracy by promulgation of the Education Act (2005), stipulating that basic education is compulsory for six-year olds and until the age of fifteen. This is one of the measures designed to reduce illiteracy in the country, reduce the number of dropouts from primary and intermediate education, and reduce the number of illiterate persons by encouraging them to enter illiteracy eradication and adult education centres. For this purpose, the ministry is using the various media, especially visual media, to raise awareness of the importance of education. It is also undertaking educational campaigns through the educational centres, government schools, health centres, social centres, official organizations, and relevant civil society organizations.

V. Rates of Enrolment in Different Educational Levels in Bahrain

(180)

The Ministry of Education has focused on absorbing all children who are at the age of education. It has encouraged citizens and residents living in Bahrain to be concerned with the education of their children and to enrol them in government schools. It has also eased the procedures for opening private schools for the children of foreign expatriates living and working in Bahrain, so that these children can enrol in these schools and receive an education.

The decade from 1996/1997 to 2005/2006 saw an increasing number of children enrolled in primary education. In AY 2005/2006, 89,721 male and female students were enrolled in government and private schools, up 19% from 72,876 male and female students in AY 1996/1997. This increase reflects parents’ and guardians’ heightened awareness of the importance of education.

Government education at all levels has spread extensively in the past 10 years. During this period, Bahrain significantly boosted the percentage of registered students. The net rate of absorption at primary level is 99.1%, which places Bahrain on a par with the advanced countries (this indicator refers to the number of students registered in primary education who are in the official age group corresponding to primary education; it is expressed as a percentage of the total members of the corresponding population group).

Paragraph 180 – Table A: Ratio of Females to Males in Primary, Preparatory, and Secondary Government Education

	1996/1997	2005/2006
Level	Males	Females	Total	Ratio of females to males	Males	Females	Total	Ratio of females to males
Primary	30517	29910	60427	49.5%	33732	33796	67528	50.0%
Preparatory	13622	13875	27497	50.5%	16189	16170	32359	50.0%
Secondary	10495	11742	22237	52.8%	14321	14902	29223	51.0%
Total	54634	55527	110161	50.4%	64242	64868	129110	50.2%

Source : Bahrain , Ministry of Education, Educational Statistics Section.

Paragraph 180 – Table B: Statistics on Education in Bahrain for 2004-2005

Educational system entrants	Female students	Male students	Equality index
Primary	31702	31527	1
Preparatory	15888	15883	1
Secondary	13637	14600	0.93

Source : Bahrain , Ministry of Education, Educational Statistics Section.

Paragraph 180 – Table C: Statistics on Education in Bahrain for 2005-2006

Educational system entrants	Female students	Male students	Equality index
Primary	43764	45957	0.95
Preparatory	19471	20270	0.96
Secondary	17175	16851	1.02

Source : Bahrain , Ministry of Education, Educational Statistics Section.

(181)

Less than 1% of the children who started school in government primary schools were unable to reach fifth grade. This is an extremely low rate of children who leave school. If students leave, it is because of a transfer to a private school, a move abroad, satisfactory reasons, or death. All of these reasons are reflected in a low dropout rate.

Paragraph 181 – Table A: Number of Students Dropping Out from Government Education According to Level, Reason for Dropout, and Sex for AY 2005/2006

Reason for leaving	Sex	Primary level	Preparatory level	Secondary level	Total
Lack of desire to continue studying	Male	32	81	169	282
Female	10	31	90	131
Marriage	Male	-	1	-	1
Female	-	8	18	26
Special family circumstances	Male	4	7	14	25
Female	2	4	3	9
Home schooling	Male	-	4	46	50
Female	-	2	19	21
Employment	Male	1	5	62	68
Female	-	-	2	2
Search for employment	Male	-	7	28	35
Female	-	-	-	-
Enrollment in other programmes (non-government schools and adult education)	Male	-	10	2	12
Female	2	-	3	5
Move abroad	Male	19	20	5	44
Female	25	10	10	45
Dismissal (for repeated absence and other reasons)	Male	-	16	282	298
Female	2	2	-	4
Death	Male	1	3	2	6
Female	2	2	-	4
Learning disabilities	Male	1	-	-	1
Female	-	2	-	2
Health reasons (physical and mental)	Male	3	1	3	7
Female	1	7	12	20
Mental, physical, and sensory disabilities (including enrolment in special education institutions)	Male	3	1	-	4
Female	1	-	-	1
Other	Male	-	-	-	-
Female	4	-	-	4
Total	Male	64	156	613	833
Female	49	68	157	274
Total	113	224	770	1107
Dropout rate	Male	0.2	1.0	4.3	1.4
Female	0.1	0.4	1.1	0,4
Total	0.2	0.7	2.6	0.9

Source : Bahrain , Ministry of Education, Educational Statistics Section

(182)

Statistics indicate a rise in the number of female students at the University of Bahrain (12,423 compared to 5994 males in AY 2004/2005, i.e., females comprised 67.5% of the total number of registered students). Most of these female students are concentrated in the college of business administration, literature, the sciences, and information technology.

At the Arabian Gulf University, 924 Bahrainis were enrolled in AY 2004/05, including 350 males and 574 females, in the College of Medicine and Medical Sciences and the College of Advanced Studies. Thus, females constituted 62.12% of the total. Females in the College of Medicine and Medical Sciences comprised 66.66% of the total. In the College of Advanced Studies, females comprised 44% of all Bahraini students registered at the Arabian Gulf University.

In AY 2007/2008, the number of females was 240 compared with 94 males. In the College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, females comprised 74.9% of all students and in the College of Advanced Studies, they comprised 62.65%. The overall percentage of female students at the University was thus 71.86%.

(183)

The College of Health Sciences is the second largest national college for higher education after the University of Bahrain. Statistics for AY 2001/02 indicate an increase in the number of female students. During this year, female students in all specialties totalled 365 compared to 134 males. The number of female students increased to 381 in AY 2004/2005, to account for 84.26% of the total number of Bahraini students.

At the Gulf College for Hospitality and Tourism, female students comprise a large percentage of the registered students. Trainees in the short-term programmes at the college include a large percentage of females.

(184)

At the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance, in 2004, there were 3331 female trainees compared to 6418 male trainees. Female employee trainees at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs accounted for 74.3% of total trainees in 2004, during which 29 of the ministry’s female employees received training.

At the Bahrain Training Institute (which trains citizens in various vocational and technical fields required by Bahrain to achieve economic, developmental, cultural, technological, etc. progress), female trainees in AY 2004/2005 did not exceed 32% of the total number of trainees.

(185)

The continuing education programme under the Continuing Education Division in the Department of Adult Education in the Ministry of Education helps train students who are unable to continue on to higher education. The programme is open to both males and females. In AY 2005/2006, males accounted for 56.2% and females 43.8% of the trainees in the programme.

(186)

At the University of Bahrain, which is the premiere official university in Bahrain, female graduates in the various specialties in AY 2001/02 totalled 66% of total graduates. This figure rose to 68% in AY 2002/03. The table below shows the ratio of female graduates to total graduates over the last five years:

Paragraph 186 – Table A: Ratio of Female Graduates to Total Graduates over the Last Five Years

Academic Year	First Semester	First Semester	First Semester	Second Semester	Second Semester	Second Semester	Summer Semester	Summer Semester	Summer Semester
	Females	Males	Percentage of females to total	Females	Males	Percentage of females to total	Females	Males	Percentage of females to total
2003/2004	884	413	68%	932	565	62%	213	120	64%
2004/2005	814	389	68%	983	492	67%	201	118	63%
2005/2006	705	375	65%	1003	455	69%	137	69	67%
2006/2007	802	331	71%	1016	417	71%	234	116	67%
2007/2008	860	355	71%

The reason for this may be that males enter the labour market or vocational training at the Bahrain Training Institute, where females represent only 32% of the current year’s trainees and female graduates at the end of AY 2003 totalled only 31%.

(187)

As indicated above, university education absorbs more females than the Bahrain Training Institute. This may also be due to the fact that most of the training programmes offered at the institute are restricted to males, as only 20 of the institute’s 49 programmes are designated for both sexes. In other words, 59% of the programmes offered are for males only; these include precision control instruments technologies, chemistry, electricity, electronics, mechanics, etc. Another factor is that secondary vocational education is also restricted to males, who, upon graduating, are more prepared for post-secondary vocational education than females. The percentage of females who receive training in hospitality and tourism specialties is 58% of all trainees.

At the College of Health Sciences , females totalled 85% of all graduates in AY 2001/02 and 84% in 2004/2005, which indicates the interest of females in studying these diverse specialties, which include nursing (which accounts for the greatest number of female graduates), pharmacy, and laboratory sciences.

(188)

The percentage of females admitted to Arab and foreign universities and colleges rose from 39% in AY 2001/02 to 57% in AY 2003/04 relative to the total number of [Bahraini] students admitted to Arab and foreign universities and institutions of higher learning. This is a good percentage if we add the high percentage of females admitted to higher education in Bahrain, where Bahraini families prefer to send their young women to higher education for social reasons.

Table 22: Ratio of Female to Male Graduates from Universities and Colleges in AY 2001/02

	University of Bahrain	Arabian Gulf University	College of Health Sciences	Bahrain Training Institute	Arab universities	Foreign universities	Total
Sex	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
Males	721	34	77	35	See Paragraph 189 – Tables A-F	925	5.6	75	51	80	70	1897	6.47
Females	1382	66	141	65	445	5.32	71	49	34	30	2177	4.53
Table	2103	100	218	100	1370	100	146	100	114	100	4074	100

Source : Central Information Agency.

VII. Opportunities for Obtaining Graduate Degrees

(189)

If the family circumstances of women permit, post-graduate education and the obtainment of specialized academic qualifications are available to both sexes without discrimination. According to the results of the 2001 population census, the percentage of Bahraini women who obtain post-secondary degrees, such as the baccalaureate and diploma, approach the percentage of males. However, the gender gap widens regarding obtainment of a master’s degree and doctorate, perhaps because women become preoccupied with family responsibilities and work and are thus unable to continue studying.

Table 23: Highest Educational Attainment According to Sex Relative to the Total Bahraini Population (15 Years and Older)

Highest education attainment	Males (%)	Females (%)	Both sexes (%)
Illiterate/reads only	7.51	17.03	12.26
Reads and writes	6.12	6.75	6.44
Primary	14.38	10.20	12.30
Intermediate	21.25	17.17	19.22
Post-intermediate	2.81	2.04	2.43
Secondary	33.52	32.83	33.17
Post-secondary	4.30	4.82	4.56
Baccalaureate/license	6.24	6.71	6.47
Advanced diploma	2.24	1.84	2.04
Master’s degree	1.23	0.45	0.84
Doctorate	0.38	0.15	0.26
Not specified	0.01	0.00	0.00

Source : Central Information Agency.

College of Health Sciences

College Registration by Programme, Nationality and Sex in AY 2005/2006

Paragraph 189 – Table A

Programme	Bahraini	Non-Bahraini	Grand total
Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total
BA in Direct Nursing	33	193	226		4	4	33	197	230
BA in Complementary Nursing	5	39	44	1	8	9	6	47	53
Pharmacology	2	30	32				2	30	32
Laboratory	3	39	42				3	39	42
Public Health	17	7	24				17	7	24
Oral and Dental Hygiene	2	9	11				2	9	11
General Nursing	8	22	30		1	1	8	23	31
Special Programme	2	1	3				2	1	3
Psychological Nursing	5	1	6				5	1	6
Emergency Nursing	2	6	8				2	6	8
Cardiac Nursing		6	6					6	6
Social Hygiene Nursing		14	14					14	14
Midwifery		8			1	1		9	9
Total	79	375	454	1	14	15	80	389	469

Source : Ministry of Health, College of Health Sciences.

College of Health Sciences

Number of Graduates by Programme, Nationality and Sex in AY 2004/2005

Paragraph 189 – Table B

Programme	Bahraini	Non-Bahraini	Grand total
Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total
BA in Direct Nursing
BA in Complementary Nursing	1	20	21	2	2	4	3	22	25
Pharmacology	1	8	9	1		1	2	8	10
Laboratory	1	8	9		1	1	1	9	10
Public Health
Oral and Dental Hygiene		7	7					7	7
General Nursing	14	79	93		1	1	14	80	94
Special Programme
Psychological Nursing	1	3	4				1	3	4
Emergency Nursing	1	5	6				1	5	6
Cardiac Nursing	2	8	10				2	8	10
Social Hygiene Nursing		11	11					11	11
Midwifery		5	5		5	5		10	10
Total	21	154	175	3	9	12	24	143	187

Source : Ministry of Health, College of Health Sciences.

College of Health Sciences

College Registration by Programme, Nationality and Sex in AY 2004/2005

Paragraph 189 – Table C

Programme	Bahraini	Non-Bahraini	Grand total
Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total
BA in Direct Nursing	16	121	137		3	3	16	124	140
BA in Complementary Nursing	4	36	40	3	6	9	7	42	49
Pharmacology	2	28	30	1		1	3	28	31
Laboratory	3	33	36		1	1	3	34	37
Public Health	14		14				14		14
Oral and Dental Hygiene	2	16	18				2	16	18
General Nursing	22	88	110		2	2	22	90	113
Special Programme	1	1	2				1	1	2
Psychological Nursing	1	4	5				1	4	5
Emergency Nursing	1	5	6				1	5	6
Cardiac Nursing	2	8	10				2	8	10
Social Hygiene Nursing		13	13					13	13
Midwifery		10	10		5	5		15	15
Total	68	364	432	4	17	21	72	380	452

Source : Ministry of Health, College of Health Sciences.

College of Health Sciences

Number of Graduates by Programme, Nationality and Sex in AY 2005/2006

Paragraph 189 – Table D

Programme	Bahraini	Non-Bahraini	Grand total
Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total
BA in Direct Nursing
BA in Complementary Nursing	2	20	22	1	4	5	3	24	27
Pharmacology		10	10					10	10
Laboratory	1	12	13				1	12	13
Public Health	6		6				6		6
Oral and Dental Hygiene
General Nursing	10	30	40		1	1	10	31	41
Special Programme
Psychological Nursing	5	1	6				5	1	6
Emergency Nursing	2	5	7				2	5	7
Cardiac Nursing		6	6					6	6
Social Hygiene Nursing		14	14					14	14
Midwifery		6	6					6	6
Total	26	104	130	1	6	7	27	110	137

Source : Ministry of Health, College of Health Sciences.

College of Health Sciences

College Registration by Programme, Nationality and Sex in AY 2006/2007

Paragraph 189 – Table E

Programme	Bahraini	Non-Bahraini	Grand total
Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total
BA in Direct Nursing	65	391	456		6	6	65	397	462
BA in Complementary Nursing	8	42	50		6	6	8	48	56
Pharmacology	10	53	63				10	53	63
Laboratory	3	55	58				3	55	58
Public Health	17	15	32				17	15	32
Oral and Dental Hygiene	4	26	30				4	26	30
General Nursing	1	3	4				1	3	4
Radiology	1	24	25				1	24	25
Psychological Nursing	2	10	12		1	1	2	11	13
Emergency Nursing	1	7	8				1	7	8
Cardiac Nursing		9	9					9	9
Social Hygiene Nursing		20	20					20	20
Midwifery		15	15					15	15
Total	112	670	782		13	13	112	683	795

Source : Ministry of Health, College of Health Sciences.

College of Health Sciences

Number of Graduates by Programme, Nationality and Sex in AY 2006/2007

Paragraph 189 – Table E

Programme	Bahraini	Non-Bahraini	Grand total
Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total
BA in Direct Nursing	8	33	41				8	33	41
BA in Complementary Nursing	8	42	50		6	6	8	48	56
Pharmacology	1	10	11				1	10	11
Laboratory	1	13	14				1	13	14
Public Health	6		6				6		6
Oral and Dental Hygiene	2	9	11				2	9	11
General Nursing		3	3					3	3
Special Programme
Psychological Nursing	2	10	12		1	1	2	11	13
Emergency Nursing	1	7	8				1	7	8
Cardiac Nursing		9	9					9	9
Social Hygiene Nursing		20	20					20	20
Midwifery		14	14					14	14
Total	29	170	199		7	7	29	177	206

Source : Ministry of Health, College of Health Sciences.

VIII. Gender Equality regarding Academic Curricula, Tests, Scholarships, and ForeignStudy Missions

1. Academic Curricula

(190)

Equality in respect of academic curricula:

Both sexes study the same curricula and books for the most part. However, at the primary level, certain areas are restricted to females, such as crochet, dolls, toys, and tricot, while carpentry, electricity, and metalworking are restricted to boys.

As regards vocational specialization, the ministry has sought to determine new specializations through education and training development initiatives in the Kingdom of Bahrain. In AY 2007/2008, trial apprenticeship was introduced for boys and girls at secondary level and this will be expanded in the coming years.

(192)

The curricula for the sciences, family education, and Islamic education include subjects relating to life skills. In 2003, the Ministry of Education formulated a comprehensive, conceptual framework for the curricula for health education,environmental education and life skills, including goals and a scope and sequence matrix for concepts, values and life skills (personal, social and health for grades 1 to 12) .

(193)

Regarding the skills needed for family planning, the family educational curricula in primary, intermediate, and secondary education have several aims. One is to provide male and female students with the knowledge, skills, values, and orientations that enable them to be a connected member of the family and society. Another is to equip them to exist in the work environment and to build a family in the future. The curricula cover nutrition, personal and public hygiene, environmental health, and household management. Household management includes: management of finances, time, and effort; use of appliances; self-management; cooking skills; and skills for social relationships and raising children. Family education is taught as a subject from fourth grade through twelfth grade to boys and girls.

4. Scholarships and Study Abroad

(196)

The government encourages young women to continue their university studies by offering scholarships and opportunities to study abroad in various specialties required by the country. Competition to obtain academic scholarships is based on academic achievement. Both male and female applicants are entitled to take advantage of the foreign study and scholarship opportunities established by the ministry each year, as shown in the following table:

Table 24: Percentage of Foreign Study Missions and Scholarships

Year	Sex	Foreign Study Missions (%)	Scholarships (%)
2001/02	Male	75.8	51
Female	24.2	49
2002/03	Male	54.0	65
Female	46.0	35
2003/04	Male	47.0	59
Female	53.0	41

Source : Ministry of Education.

Paragraph 196 – Table A: Percentage of Females in Foreign Study Missions and with Scholarships

Academic year	Study missions (%)	Scholarships (%)
2005/2006	51	44

Source : Bahrain , Ministry of Education, Educational Statistics Section.

(197)

The table above shows the substantial convergence in the percentage of males and females with respect to foreign study missions and academic scholarships in AY 2003/04 compared to discrimination favouring males in previous years. Also, the existence of a national university and a Gulf university, and the ease of access thereto, have propelled many female students from conservative families, especially in villages, to continue their education. The reduction of university tuition ordered by His Majesty the King in AY 2001/02 has also encouraged both sexes to continue their education. The high percentage of female teachers in the villages will no doubt have a social impact on these communities in the future. The Crown Prince’s International Academic Scholarship Programme has granted 36 scholarships in the past four years, including 18 scholarships for females and 17 for males. This programme aims to help outstanding students of both sexes who would otherwise lack the financial resources to study abroad.

The following table shows the number and percentage of government employees engaged in academic study abroad in 2006 and 2007, by sex, for each ministry and government institution separately:

Civil Service Burea – Management Information Systems – Horison

Total Overseas Academic Study in Government of Bahrain by Ministry and Gender

in 2006/2007

Table 5

Ministry	2007	2006	Sex
Tenders-Tenders Council	5	4	Female
Tenders-Tenders Council	8	2	Male
Csb-Civil Service Bureau	7	5	Female
Csb-Civil Service Bureau	12	11	Male
Health-Ministry of Health	29	28	Female
Health-Ministry of Health	20	30	Male
Mofne-Ministry of Finance	39	36	Female
Mofne-Ministry of Finance	58	52	Male
Educ-Ministry of Education	42	39	Female
Educ-Ministry of Education	80	80	Male
Justice-Ministry of Justice	2	5	Male
Infor-Ministry of Information	45	56	Female
Infor-Ministry of Information	42	48	Male
Lab&Socaff-Ministry of Labour	18	20	Female
Lab&Socaff-Ministry of Labour	29	26	Male
Legal-Legal Affairs Department	28	26	Female
Legal-Legal Affairs Department	35	30	Male
W&H-Ministry of Works and Housing	60	60	Female
W&H-Ministry of Works and Housing	27	27	Male
Judic-Supreme Judicial Council	15	12	Female
Judic- Supreme Judicial Council	20	25	Male
Oil-National Oil and Gas Authority	14	13	Female
Oil-National Oil and Gas Authority	24	21	Male
Pmcourt-The Prime Ministers Court	8	4	Female
Pmcourt-The Prime Ministers Court	5	8	Male
Transp-Ministry of Transportation	8	10	Female
Transp-Ministry of Transportation	32	21	Male
Cabaff-Ministry of Cabinet Affairs	6	8	Female
Cabaff-Ministry of Cabinet Affairs	5	6	Male
Foraff-Ministry of Foreign Affairs	6	8	Female
Foraff-Ministry of Foreign Affairs	3	6	Male
Islamic-Ministry of Islamic Affairs	6	6	Male
Cio-Central Information Organization	7	8	Female
Cio-Central Information Organization	5	8	Female
Comm-Ministry of Industry and Commerce	2	6	Female
Comm-Ministry of Industry and Commerce	28	16	Male
E&W-Ministry of Electricity and Water	6	8	Female
E&W-Ministry of Electricity and Water	4	6	Male
Social-Ministry of Social Development	6	6	Female
Social-Ministry of Social Development	6	4	Male
Broad&TV-Broadcasting and TV Corporation	8	4	Male
Goys-General Organization for Youth and Sports	9	2	Female
Goys-General Organization for Youth and Sports	2	6	Male
Deputy-H. E. Deputy Prime for Ministerial Affairs	2	2	Male
Landreg-Survey and Land Registration Organization	2	3	Female
Landreg-Survey and Land Registration Organization	4	3	Male
Mun&Agr-Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture	3	4	Female
Mun&Agr-Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture	3	2	Male
Pmcult-H. E. the Prime Minster’s Consultant for Cultural Affairs	6	4	Male
Pmsec-H. E. the Prime Minster’s Advisor For Security Affairs	3	3	Male
Total	839	824	1663

Table 6
2006	Female	Male	Grand Total
Total employees studying abroad	374	454	828
Percentage %	45.17	54.83	100.00
Table 7
2007	Female	Male	Grand Total
Total employees studying abroad	370	474	844
Percentage %	43.84	56.16	100.00

II. Women and the Judiciary

(209)

Law No. 13 of 1971 on the Organization of the Judiciary does not restrict the holding of judgeships to males to the exclusion of females. Rather, it leaves the door open to both sexes to hold judicial posts as long as they enjoy full civil capacity to do so. Likewise, the new Judicial Branch Law issued under Decree-Law No. 42 of 2002 does not restrict judgeships to males. In 2003, four women were appointed to the Office of the Public Prosecutor, which is a constituent branch of the judicial branch. Three of these women were appointed with the rank of deputy public prosecutor, and one with the rank of assistant deputy public prosecutor. In addition, women hold several legal positions in the Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs, including one notary public, one documentation office chief, one deputy document office chief, six authenticating officers, and one public registrar. In 2006, the first woman was appointed to the post of judge in the Higher Civil Court. In 2007, a Bahraini woman was appointed to the post of Chief Public Prosecutor and another was appointed judge in the Constitutional Court. On 18 February 2008, a Bahraini woman was appointed to the post of judge in the Lower Civil Court. The Ministry has recently witnessed a remarkable increase in the number of number of Bahraini women joining the legal profession (as shown in paragraph 209, table B). There has also been an increase in the number of female assistant and deputy Public Prosecutors in comparison with their male counterparts, as follows:

No. of male deputy Public Prosecutors: N/A

No. of male assistant deputies: 13

No. of female assistant deputies: 1

No. of female deputy Public Prosecutors: 2

The ratio of women to men in the Ministry has risen generally, as follows:

No. of women in the Ministry: 189

No. of men in the Ministry: 743

Paragraph 209 – Table A: Bahraini Women Holding Positions in the Judiciary

Position
Judge in the Higher Civil Court	Royal Decree No. _ (2006)
Chief Public Prosecutor	Royal Decree No. 8 (2007)
Deputy Public Prosecutor
Deputy Prosecutor	Royal Decree No. 5 (2003)
Deputy Prosecutor in Juvenile Courts
Judge in the Constitutional Court for a 9-year term	Royal Decree No. 17 (2007)
Judge in the Lower Civil Court	18 February 2008

Source : Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs.

Paragraph 209 – Table B: Number of Attorneys as of 2008

Type of licence	Male	Female
Trainee attorneys	71	111
Practising attorneys	61	61
Attorneys licensed to appear before the Courts of Cassation	129	32
Total	261	204

Source : Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs.

(213)

Bahraini women have also shown great interest in apprenticeships in banking, accepting positions in various categories of banking jobs. The number of female trainees at the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF)in 2001 and 2002 totalled 3176 and 3368 respectively, compared to 3935 and 5545 male trainees in the same years.In 2006, the number of female trainees at the BIBF was 1971 and in 2007, 2443, an increase of 24% over 2006. Women accept apprenticeships in computers and computer applications because they prefer office jobs. The number of female workers in banking and finance was 36% of the total workforce in 2006. This rose by 12% in 2007 (Source: BIBF).

(214)

The state is responsible for training in the medical sciences, having established the College of Health Sciences under the Ministry of Health’s supervision. This college graduates large numbers of females each year in nursing, pharmacy, and laboratory techniques.

The Women’s Hairdresser Programme, which began in 2000, has also been expanded. It trains young women from needy families to enter the labour market in the area of women’s hair styling and makeup. This programme has graduated 250 women; 109 are currently being trained.

The following table shows the number of female and male trainees in various sectors in 2006-2007:

Paragraph 214 – Table A: Table Showing the Number of Females in Training Programmes Completed in 2006 and 2007

No.	Programme	Institution	Start date	End date	No. of trainees	Male	Female
1	Diploma in Pharmacology (1)	College of Health Sciences	8/4/2006	8/10/2008	13	4	9
2	Diploma in Pharmacology (2)	College of Health Sciences	13/3/2007	13/9/2009	12	3	9
3	Diploma in Insurance (group 1)	BIBF	3/12/2006	9/12/2006	8	0	8
4	Diploma in Insurance (group 2)	BIBF	26/11/2006		8	1	7
5	Diploma in Insurance (group 3)	BIBF	18/11/2007	18/11/2008	9	9	0
6	Vehicle bodywork and painting	Al-Jabiriya School	12/2/2007	12/2/2008	12	12	0
7	CTP training specialist (group 1)	Bahrain Training Institute	28/5/2006	15/12/2006	12	2	10
8	CTP training specialist (group 2)	Bahrain Training Institute	26/6/2006	25/12/2006	14	0	14
9	Human resources specialist	Bahrain Training Institute	8/12/2006	30/6/2007	15	2	13
10	Banking programme	Bahrain Training Institute	24/9/2006	23/2/2007	18	7	11
11	Glass and aluminium cutting (1)	Abbar Co.	8/1/2006	30/1/2007	5	5	0
12	Glass and aluminium cutting (2)	Abbar Co.	19/9/2006	19/3/2007	8	8	0
13	Typing programme (1)	Sheikh Khalifa Institute	4/11/2006	31/1/2007	27	3	24
14	Typing programme (2)	Al-Jabiriya School	11/2/2007	26/6/2007	26	7	19
15	Account and ticketing revenue programme (1)	Gulf Air	7/1/2007	6/10/2007	15	4	11
16	Account and ticketing revenue programme (2)	Gulf Air	14/1/2007	13/10/2007	13	0	13
17	Account and ticketing revenue programme (3)	Gulf Air	22/1/2007	21/10/2007	11	6	5
18	English language programme (level 1)	Various institutes	-	-	195	20	175
19	English language programme (level 2)	Various institutes	-	-	167	19	148
20	English language programme	Berlitz	19/8/2006	5/11/2006	7	0	7
21	Cisco network management programme	Al-Muayyid Inst.	18/4/2007	18/6/2007	9	1	8
22	Cisco network management programme	Batelco	7/8/2007	31/1/2008	4	0	4
23	Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer programme (MCSE)	New Horizon Inst.	11/3/2007	8/7/2007	10	5	5
24	Electrical installation	Jidd Hafs School	8/4/2007	28/6/2007	21	21	0
25	Autocad	Jidd Hafs School	8/4/2007	28/6/2007	29	12	17
26	Hair styling	Elie et Jean	2/5/2007	29/8/2007	51	0	51
27	Geographic Information Systems	Bahrain Centre for Studies and Research	-	-	16	0	16
28	Diploma in Banking Studies – level 2 (group 1)	Bahrain Institute for Banking and Finance	24/9/2007	Feb. 2009	15	9	6
29	Diploma in Banking Studies – level 2 (group 2)	Bahrain Institute for Banking and Finance	20/8/2007	Feb. 2009	13	3	10
30	Diploma in Banking Studies – level 3	Bahrain Institute for Banking and Finance	21/10/2007	Feb. 2009	7	1	6
31	Diploma in Banking Studies – level 4	Bahrain Institute for Banking and Finance	15/9/2007	Feb. 2009	3	2	1
32	Diploma in Banking Studies	Bahrain Institute for Banking and Finance	17/9/2007	17/09/2009	2	1	1
33	Accounting programme (AAT)	Bridge Training Solutions	1/7/2007	30/6/2008	1	1	0
34	Technician and Administrator Qualification programme	University of Bahrain	-	-	124	45	79
35	Heavy goods vehicle driving	Al-Sayyid and Said Est.	-	-	29	29	0
36	Career success skills	Bahrain Training Inst.	1/7/2007	20/9/2007	307	38	269
37	Job market skills	BAPCO	-	-	536	424	112
38	Computer training programme for those with special needs (1)	Bridge Training Solutions	7/10/2006	9/10/2006	20	5	15
39	Computer training programme for those with special needs (2)	Al-Asima Inst.	15/7/2006	15/9/2006	19	9	10
40	Occupational safety and health (NEBOSH)	Bahrain Training Inst	1/7/2006	21/9/2006	15	0	15
41	Employment and training of recent engineering graduates	Private sector organizations	-	-	27	15	12
42	Retail sales (51)	Baisan Inst.	6/3/2006	14/6/2006	20	10	10
43	Retail sales (52)	Baisan Inst.	17/6/2006	23/9/2006	21	7	14
Total	1,894	750	1,144

Source : BIBF.

Paragraph 214 – Table B: Summary Showing the Percentage of Females Graduating from Training Programmes in 2006- 2007

Total number of training programmes which include both men and women	43
Total number of trainees in all training courses	1,894
Number of males in the 43 programmes	750
Percentage of males in the 43 programmes	39.6%
Number of programmes which include women only	36
Number of females in the 36 programmes	1,144
Percentage of programmes which include women	83.7%
Percentage of females in all training programmes	60.4%

Paragraph 214 – Table C: Number and Percentage of Government Employees Receiving Training Courses Abroad, by sex and for Each Ministry and Government Organisation Separately

Civil Service Bureau

Management Information Systems - Horison

Total Academic Studies in Government Of Bahrain

by Ministry and Gender outside Bahrain in 2006-2007

Ministry	2006	2007	Sex
Tenders-Tenders Council	4	5	Female
Tenders-Tenders Council	2	8	Male
Csb-Civil Service Bureau	5	7	Female
Csb-Civil Service Bureau	11	12	Male
Health-Ministry of Health	28	29	Female
Health-Ministry of Health	30	20	Male
Mofne-Ministry of Finance	36	39	Female
Mofne-Ministry of Finance	52	58	Male
Educ-Ministry of Education	39	42	Female
Educ-Ministry of Education	80	80	Male
Justice-Ministry of Justice	5	2	Male
Infor-Ministry of Information	56	45	Female
Infor-Ministry of Information	48	42	Male
LabandSocaff-Ministry of Labour	20	18	Female
LabandSocaff-Ministry of Labour	26	29	Male
Legal-Legal Affairs Department	26	28	Female
Legal-Legal Affairs Department	30	35	Male
WandH-Ministry of Works and Housing	60	60	Female
WandH-Ministry of Works and Housing	27	27	Male
Judic-Supreme Judicial Council	12	15	Female
Judic- Supreme Judicial Council	25	20	Male
Oil-National Oil and Gas Authority	13	14	Female
Oil-National Oil and Gas Authority	21	24	Male
Pmcourt-the Prime Ministers’ Court	4	8	Female
Pmcourt-the Prime Ministers’ Court	8	5	Male
Transp-Ministry of Transportation	10	8	Female
Transp-Ministry of Transportation	21	32	Male
Cabaff-Ministry of Cabinet Affairs	8	6	Female
Cabaff-Ministry of Cabinet Affairs	6	5	Male
Foraff-Ministry of Foreign Affairs	8	6	Female
Foraff-Ministry of Foreign Affairs	6	3	Male
Islamic-Ministry of Islamic Affairs	6	6	Male
Cio-Central Information Organization	8	7	Female
Cio-Central Information Organization	8	5	Female
Comm-Ministry of Industry and Commerce	6	2	Female
Comm-Ministry of Industry and Commerce	16	28	Male
Eand W-Ministry of Electricity and Water	8	6	Female
Eand W-Ministry of Electricity and Water	6	4	Male
Social-Ministry of Social Development	6	6	Female
Social-Ministry of Social Development	4	6	Male
Broadand Tv-Broadcasting and TV Corporation	4	8	Male
Goys-General Organization for Youth and Sports	2	9	Female
Goys-General Organization for Youth and Sports	6	2	Male
Deputy-H. E. Deputy Prime for Ministerial Affairs	2	2	Male
Landreg-Survey and Land Registration Organization	3	2	Female
Landreg-Survey and Land Registration Organization	3	4	Male
MunandAgr-Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture	4	3	Female
MunandAgr-Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture	2	3	Male
Pmcult-H. E. the Prime Minster’s Consultant for Cultural Affairs	4	6	Male
Pmsec-H. E. the Prime Minister’s Advisor for Security Affairs	3	3	Male
Total	824	839	1663

V. The Right to Equal Remuneration and Benefits

(215)

In 1984, Bahrain ratified Arab Convention no. 15/1983 concerning the determination and protection of wages (1983), issued by the Arab Labour Organization, of which Article 13 stipulates that a working woman shall be given the same wage as a man for a similar job. This clearly provides for equality of pay for the performance of similar work.

The wage scale in the civil service sector shows no difference in wages between the sexes when they perform the same job. A woman receives the same wage received by a man holding the same position. Women are also equal to men with respect to most employment rights, including annual leave of 30 work days, sick leave of 24 work days per year, pilgrimage leave for 21 days during the period of employment, leave to accompany a sick person abroad for up to 60 days, leave of three work days for marriage, leave of three days for a relative’s death, authorized absence with pay to perform official duties, health quarantine leave, and one month of leave with pay to study. Women and men are equal in all of these employment rights. In addition, women enjoy other benefits, including maternity leave of 60 workdays, two hours daily for two years to provide care, widowhood leave for four months and 20 days with pay, and leave without pay to care for children or other purposes.

VI. The Right to Social Insurance

(218)

The Rights of Women Pensioners in Bahrain

The Civil PensionsAct No. 13 (1975), on the retirement pensions and allowances of civil servants, and the Military Pensions Act No. 11 (1976), promulgating the law regulating the pensions and allowances of retired officers and soldiers of the Bahrain Defence Force and Public Security Force, do not discriminate between women and men, whether office staff, officers or soldiers, in respect of the rights and privileges contained therein. There are no special stipulations or provisions for men. Indeed, in addition to establishing full and complete equality for women in respect of pension rights and privileges, women are accorded specific exceptions and given special attention and care, in appreciation of the role they play in family life. Accordingly, they enjoy the following rights and privileges:

1. Old-age pension insurance

The principle is that the insured male or female employee receives a retirement pension upon reaching the age of 60, if insurance contributions have been made for a period of at least 15 years. The maximum pension granted is 80% of basic salary of the final two years and the minimum is a flat amount of BD 180. In addition to the pension, there is an entitlement to remuneration of 3% of annual salary for each year of service as calculated for retirement purposes, not exceeding 40 years. A women may convert this remuneration into an additional pension instead. A woman may commute a part of her retirement pension, within the limits determined by decree of the Minister of Finance.

If the period of service as calculated for retirement purposes exceeds 40 years, an insured female employee is also entitled to remuneration of 15% of the last salary on which contributions were paid, for each additional year up to a maximum of 7 years. (Source: Pension Fund Commission.)

If an insured woman reaches the age of 60 before meeting the condition of the contribution period necessary for pension entitlement, she is entitled to retirement remuneration of 15% of annual salary for each full year of service as calculated for retirement purposes.

If the woman’s period of service ends because the position has been abolished or because of non-disciplinary dismissal, she is entitled to a pension, if she has worked for a period of 10 years. The pension is calculated on the basis of the aggregate of five years. If the condition of pension entitlement is not met, she is entitled to a retirement remuneration of 15% of annual salary for each full year of service plus half of the remuneration as compensation.

The normal retirement pension is paid to a female employee in the event of her resignation for life-threatening health reasons or to devote herself to the full-time care of a parent, son, daughter, brother or sister with special needs. In this case, she is treated in the same manner as those leaving work upon reaching normal retirement age.

2. Total disability, natural death or bereavement insurance

An insured female employee is entitled to a pension for total disability or natural death not resulting from a work injury, or in the event of bereavement. If death, total disability or bereavement occurs, she shall be entitled to a pension of 40% of final monthly salary regardless of her period of service as calculated for retirement purposes.

In the event of the death of an insured woman, her beneficiaries are entitled to a pension. Her beneficiaries include her widow who is unable to work, sons, daughters, grandchildren, parents, brothers and sisters, if they satisfy the conditions of entitlement in law.

The pensions law requires payment of remuneration upon the death of an insured female employee or pension holder to her beneficiaries equivalent to six months salary, if she was in employment or a pension holder for six months. It also grants the beneficiary funeral expenses of three months’ salary or three months’pension, as appropriate.

The law also grants certain benefits to a widowed female employee to benefit from her deceased husband’s retirement pension. These exclude her from the general rule forbidding payment of more than one pension and, where there is an entitlement to more than one pension, that the larger shall be paid. A female employee however, as an insured person, has the right to combine the pension of her deceased husband with her own pension. Similarly, the daughter and grandaughter of the deceased may combine the pension entitlements of their parents and grandparent. A mother may combine her pension entitlements, such that the equivalent of the larger pension is not exceeded.

3. Work injury insurance

The provisions for work injury insurance established by Law No. 13 (1975), regulating pensions and remuneration for government employees, apply to insured female employees, in the same manner as men.

Pension for Continuing Total Disability and Partial Disability Resulting from Injury

A female employee is entitled to a continuing total disability pension, in accordance with the decision of the medical committees. The pension is equivalent to 80% of the salary on which the contribution is based.

A female employee is entitled to a continuing partial disability pension, if the disability is 30% or more. The pension is paid in proportion to the total disability pension, in which case she combines her partial disability pension and salary.

The pensions law provides for an employed women in the event of termination of service due to the lack of work appropriate to her partial disability. In this case, the partial disability is considered as a continuing total disability and the pension is equivalent to 80% of the salary on which the contribution is based.

A female employee is entitled to lump sum compensation, if the continuing partial disability is less than 30%. The compensation is set at the percentage of disability multiplied by the amount of the total disability pension over 36 months. (Source: Pension Fund Commission.)

II. Draft Laws Amending Certain Provisions of the Civil and Military Pensions Law by Adding Benefits for Women

1.Enablement of a widow whose pension share was transferred to her children or reverted to the PFC due to re-marriage and who subsequently became widowed or divored from her last husband to reclaim her pension share, when she is not entitled to a retirement pension from her last husband after his death;

2.Inclusion of the children of a deceased daughter among the beneficiaries of their grandfather’s pension in the same manner as the children of a deceased son;

3.Giving a mother an entitlement to the pension of her deceased daughter, if she was widowed or divorced prior to the death of her daughter and has only been married to the father of her deceased daughter.

We append the following statistics on pensions, remunerations and other retirement rights granted to an insured female employee since application of the pensions law commenced in 1975 until the present.

Paragraph 218 – Table A: Statistics on the Number of Females Claiming Retirement Rights

Type of service	No. of transactions	Amounts
Commutation	2049	45,808,620.000
Loans	4061	25,164,139.000

Paragraph 218 – Table B: Statistics on Female Pension Holders

No. of Female Pensioners Having Pension Entitlements as at October 2007
Civil	Military	Total
2270	151	2421

Paragraph 218 – Table C

No. of Deceased Female Pension Holders as at October 2007
Civil	Military	Total
210	15	225

Paragraph 218 – Table D

No. of Male and Female Beneficiaries of Deceased Female Pension Holders as at October 2007
Civil	Military	Total
419	41	460

Paragraph 218 – Table E

No. of Female Beneficiaries of Lump Sum Payments (15% Remuneration) from Jannuary to November 2007
Civil	Military	Total
185	3	188

Source : PFC.

(220)

The social insurance system applies to all private-sector establishments that have at least nine employees and are in the category of small businesses as of 1 January 2005, as determined by the Ministry of Labour. This is the only remaining category of private establishments not yet covered by the social insurance system. Women working in such establishments receive, under the social insurance system, social protection in the form of a guaranteed, fixed retirement pension to cover their living costs after the end of their service. They also benefit from social insurance benefits in the event of sickness, disability, and old age.

3. Prohibition on Dismissal from Service Due to Pregnancy or Maternity

(224)

To optimally provide for the protection of women and care of children, Article 61 of the Labour Law entrenches positive discrimination favouring working women by entitling them, if they are pregnant, to maternity leave of 45 days, including the period before or after delivery. This leave is with full pay and is not subtracted from the worker’s annual leave. Working, pregnant women are also entitled to 15 days leave without pay.

In addition, for child care and breastfeeding purposes, Article 62 of the Labour Law entitles a working mother, after her return from maternity leave, to use break periods to nurse her new child for the two years following delivery. Breaks for breastfeeding purposes must total at least two hours/day (in accordance with the last amendment). The nursing mother’s entitlement to a rest does not affect her right to take rest periods granted normally to all workers.

(226)

A woman working in the public sector enjoys the same leaves as those granted to a man and additional benefits, including:

Marriage leave: A woman receives the same marriage leave granted to a male employee under the Civil Service Law (three days).

Maternity leave of 60 days, starting from the date of the delivery.Civil Service Bureau statistics indicate that during the period of 1 October 2003 through 23 February 2005, 1755 working women (11% of the female work force in the civil service) took maternity leave. The civil service includes 12,775 married and 3918 unmarried female employees. Thus, 83% of the female labour force in the civil service is married.

Breastfeeding break for two hours daily for two years.

Leave without pay to care for a child. The Civil Service Law entitles women to take up to two years leave to care for a child.

Civil service statistics show that during January 2002-September 2003, leave without pay for more than 30 days was granted to approximately 328 women in different Bahraini ministries.

Paragraph 226 – Table A: The Number and Ratio of Women’s Leave in the Civil Service for 2006 and 2007, by Sex in Each Ministry and Government Organization Separately

	2006
	Ministry	Total	Leave Type
Broad&TV-Broadcasting and TV Corporation	55	Leave without pay
Broad&Tv-Broadcasting and TV Corporation	965	Sick leave with pay
Broad&Tv-Broadcasting and TV Corporation	1	Sick leave without pay
Broad&Tv-Broadcasting and TV Corporation	927	Annual leave with pay
Broad&Tv-Broadcasting and TV Corporation	2	Wedding leave with pay
Broad&Tv-Broadcasting and TV Corporation	13	Maternity leave with pay
Broad&Tv-Broadcasting and TV Corporation	6	Pilgrimage leave with pay
Broad&Tv-Broadcasting and TV Corporation	88	Bereavement leave with pay
Broad&Tv-Broadcasting and TV Corporation	57	Accompanying leave with pay
Broad&Tv-Broadcasting and TV Corporation	44	Authorised absence leave with pay
Cabaff-Ministry of Cabinet Affairs	86	Sick leave with pay
Cabaff-Ministry of Cabinet Affairs	139	Annual leave with pay
Cabaff-Ministry of Cabinet Affairs	6	Bereavement leave with pay
Cabaff-Ministry of Cabinet Affairs	4	Accompanying leave with pay
Cabaff-Ministry of Cabinet Affairs	12	Unauthorised absence without pay
Cio-Central Information Organization	156	Leave without pay
Cio-Central Information Organization	932	Sick leave with pay
Cio-Central Information Organization	6	Study leave with pay
Cio-Central Information Organization	657	Annual leave with pay
Cio-Central Information Organization	3	Wedding leave with pay
Cio-Central Information Organization	5	Maternity leave with pay
Cio-Central Information Organization	3	Pilgrimage leave with pay
Cio-Central Information Organization	82	Bereavement leave with pay
Cio-Central Information Organization	1	Official duty leave with pay
Cio-Central Information Organization	7	Authorised absence leave with pay
Comm-Ministry of Industry and Commerce	2	Leave without pay
Comm-Ministry of Industry and Commerce	584	Sick leave with pay
Comm-Ministry of Industry and Commerce	18	Study leave with pay
Comm-Ministry of Industry and Commerce	553	Annual leave with pay
Comm-Ministry of Industry and Commerce	6	Wedding leave with pay
Comm-Ministry of Industry and Commerce	10	Maternity leave with pay
Comm-Ministry of Industry and Commerce	1	Pilgrimage leave with pay
Comm-Ministry of Industry and Commerce	48	Bereavement leave with pay
Comm-Ministry of Industry and Commerce	72	Official Duty leave with pay
Comm-Ministry of Industry and Commerce	29	Authorised absence leave with pay
Council-Ministry of State for Consult. and Parl. Council Affairs	34	Sick leave with pay
Council-Ministry of State for Consult. and Parl. Council Affairs	1	Study leave with pay
Council-Ministry of State for Consult. and Parl. Council Affairs	48	Annual leave with pay
Council-Ministry of State for Consult. and Parl. Council Affairs	7	Bereavement leave with pay
Council-Ministry of State for Consult. and Parl. Council Affairs	2	Accompanying leave with pay
Council-Ministry of State for Consult. and Parl. Council Affairs	3	Authorised absence leave with pay
Council-Ministry of State for Consult. and Parl. Council Affairs	1	Unauthorised absence without pay
Csb-Civil Service Bureau	11	Leave without pay
Csb-Civil Service Bureau	385	Sick leave with pay
Csb-Civil Service Bureau	386	Annual leave with pay
Csb-Civil Service Bureau	3	Wedding leave with pay
Csb-Civil Service Bureau	3	Maternity leave with pay
Csb-Civil Service Bureau	2	Pilgrimage leave with pay
Csb-Civil Service Bureau	45	Bereavement leave with pay
Csb-Civil Service Bureau	8	Official duty leave with pay
Csb-Civil Service Bureau	15	Authorised absence leave with pay
Deputy-H. E. the Deputy Prime Minister for Ministerial Affairs	2	Annual leave with pay
Deputyleg-H. E. the Deputy Prime Minister	4	Sick leave with pay
Deputyleg-H. E. the Deputy Prime Minister	15	Annual leave with pay
E&W-Ministry of Electricity and Water	13	Leave without pay
E&W-Ministry of Electricity and Water	1820	Sick leave with pay
E&W-Ministry of Electricity and Water	20	Study leave with pay
E&W-Ministry of Electricity and Water	1932	Annual leave with pay
E&W-Ministry of Electricity and Water	2	Wedding leave with pay
E&W-Ministry of Electricity and Water	21	Maternity leave with pay
E&W-Ministry of Electricity and Water	9	Pilgrimage leave with pay
E&W-Ministry of Electricity and Water	1	Suspension without pay
E&W-Ministry of Electricity and Water	146	Bereavement leave with pay
E&W-Ministry of Electricity and Water	10	Accompanying leave with pay
E&W-Ministry of Electricity and Water	32	Official duty leave with pay
E&W-Ministry of Electricity and Water	90	Authorised absence leave with pay
Educ-Ministry of Education	2400	Leave without pay
Educ-Ministry of Education	30330	Sick leave with pay
Educ-Ministry of Education	330	Sick leave without pay
Educ-Ministry of Education	73	Study leave with pay
Educ-Ministry of Education	11	Widow leave with pay
Educ-Ministry of Education	2511	Annual leave with pay
Educ-Ministry of Education	156	Wedding leave with pay
Educ-Ministry of Education	922	Maternity leave with pay
Educ-Ministry of Education	378	Pilgrimage leave with pay
Educ-Ministry of Education	9	Suspension without pay
Educ-Ministry of Education	2759	Bereavement leave with pay
Educ-Ministry of Education	250	Accompanying leave with pay
Educ-Ministry of Education	2	Official duty leave with pay
Educ-Ministry of Education	392	Authorised absence leave with pay
Foraff-Ministry of Foreign Affairs	95	Sick leave with pay
Foraff-Ministry of Foreign Affairs	1	Study leave with pay
Foraff-Ministry of Foreign Affairs	121	Annual leave with pay
Foraff-Ministry of Foreign Affairs	1	Bereavement leave with pay
Foraff-Ministry of Foreign Affairs	3	Authorised absence leave with pay
Goys-General Organization for Youth and Sports	4	Leave without pay
Goys-General Organization for Youth and Sports	439	Sick leave with pay
Goys-General Organization for Youth and Sports	2	Study leave with pay
Goys-General Organization for Youth and Sports	502	Annual leave with pay
Goys-General Organization for Youth and Sports	1	Wedding leave with pay
Goys-General Organization for Youth and Sports	4	Maternity leave with pay
Goys-General Organization for Youth and Sports	6	Pilgrimage leave with pay
Goys-General Organization for Youth and Sports	35	Bereavement leave with pay
Goys-General Organization for Youth and Sports	1	Accompanying leave with pay
Goys-General Organization for Youth and Sports	4	Official duty leave with pay
Goys-General Organization for Youth and Sports	1	Authorised absence leave with pay
Goys-General Organization for Youth and Sports	22	Unauthorised absence without pay
Health-Ministry of Health	369	Leave without pay
Health-Ministry of Health	19615	Sick leave with pay
Health-Ministry of Health	9	Sick leave without pay
Health-Ministry of Health	117	Study leave with pay
Health-Ministry of Health	13	Widow leave with pay
Health-Ministry of Health	16090	Annual leave with pay
Health-Ministry of Health	61	Wedding leave with pay
Health-Ministry of Health	551	Maternity leave with pay
Health-Ministry of Health	147	Pilgrimage leave with pay
Health-Ministry of Health	24	Suspension without pay
Health-Ministry of Health	2431	Bereavement leave with pay
Health-Ministry of Health	68	Accompanying leave with pay
Health-Ministry of Health	382	Official duty leave with pay
Health-Ministry of Health	381	Academic annual leave with pay
Health-Ministry of Health	745	Authorised absence leave with pay
Infor-Ministry of Information	7	Leave without pay
Infor-Ministry of Information	562	Sick leave with pay
Infor-Ministry of Information	8	Study leave with pay
Infor-Ministry of Information	1	Widow leave with pay
Infor-Ministry of Information	763	Annual leave with pay
Infor-Ministry of Information	1	Wedding leave with pay
Infor-Ministry of Information	2	Maternity leave with pay
Infor-Ministry of Information	3	Pilgrimage leave with pay
Infor-Ministry of Information	61	Bereavement leave with pay
Infor-Ministry of Information	42	Official duty leave with pay
Infor-Ministry of Information	73	Authorised absence leave with pay
Islamic-Ministry of Islamic Affairs	19	Sick leave with pay
Islamic-Ministry of Islamic Affairs	29	Annual leave with pay
Islamic-Ministry of Islamic Affairs	1	Pilgrimage leave with pay
Islamic-Ministry of Islamic Affairs	1	Bereavement leave with pay
Islamic-Ministry of Islamic Affairs	4	Unauthorised absence without pay
Judic-High Council for Judiciary	1	Study leave with pay
Justice-Ministry of Justice	314	Sick leave with pay
Justice-Ministry of Justice	4	Study leave with pay
Justice-Ministry of Justice	362	Annual leave with pay
Justice-Ministry of Justice	5	Maternity leave with pay
Justice-Ministry of Justice	4	Pilgrimage leave with pay
Justice-Ministry of Justice	3	Bereavement leave with pay
Justice-Ministry of Justice	3	Accompanying leave with pay
Justice-Ministry of Justice	75	Authorised absence leave with pay
Lab&Socaff-Ministry of Labour	8	Leave without pay
Lab&Socaff-Ministry of Labour	637	Sick leave with pay
Lab&Socaff-Ministry of Labour	4	Study leave with pay
Lab&Socaff-Ministry of Labour	578	Annual leave with pay
Lab&Socaff-Ministry of Labour	3	Wedding leave with pay
Lab&Socaff-Ministry of Labour	11	Maternity leave with pay
Lab&Socaff-Ministry of Labour	2	Pilgrimage leave with pay
Lab&Socaff-Ministry of Labour	77	Bereavement leave with pay
Lab&Socaff-Ministry of Labour	3	Official duty leave with pay
Lab&Socaff-Ministry of Labour	31	Authorised absence leave with pay
Lab&Socaff-Ministry of Labour	3	Unauthorised absence without pay
Landreg-Survey and Land Registration Organization	1	Leave without pay
Landreg-Survey and Land Registration Organization	377	Sick leave with pay
Landreg-Survey and Land Registration Organization	320	Annual leave with pay
Landreg-Survey and Land Registration Organization	3	Wedding leave with pay
Landreg-Survey and Land Registration Organization	5	Maternity leave with pay
Landreg-Survey and Land Registration Organization	3	Pilgrimage leave with pay
Landreg-Survey and Land Registration Organization	20	Bereavement leave with pay
Landreg-Survey and Land Registration Organization	14	Accompanying leave with pay
Landreg-Survey and Land Registration Organization	44	Authorised absence leave with pay
Legal-Legal Affairs Department	5	Leave without pay
Legal-Legal Affairs Department	60	Sick leave with pay
Legal-Legal Affairs Department	1	Study leave with pay
Legal-Legal Affairs Department	111	Annual leave with pay
Legal-Legal Affairs Department	1	Maternity leave with pay
Legal-Legal Affairs Department	1	Pilgrimage leave with pay
Legal-Legal Affairs Department	3	Bereavement leave with pay
Legal-Legal Affairs Department	1	Accompanying leave with pay
Legal-Legal Affairs Department	5	Official duty leave with pay
Legal-Legal Affairs Department	9	Authorised absence leave with pay
Mofne-Ministry of Finance	5	Leave without pay
Mofne-Ministry of Finance	762	Sick leave with pay
Mofne-Ministry of Finance	27	Study leave with pay
Mofne-Ministry of Finance	979	Annual leave with pay
Mofne-Ministry of Finance	9	Maternity leave with pay
Mofne-Ministry of Finance	7	Pilgrimage leave with pay
Mofne-Ministry of Finance	78	Bereavement leave with pay
Mofne-Ministry of Finance	1	Accompanying leave with pay
Mofne-Ministry of Finance	11	Official duty leave with pay
Mofne-Ministry of Finance	92	Authorised absence leave with pay
Mofne-Ministry of Finance	6	Unauthorised absence without pay
Mun&Agr-Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture	2	Leave without pay
Mun&Agr-Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture	84	Sick leave with pay
Mun&Agr-Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture	5	Study leave with pay
Mun&Agr-Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture	121	Annual leave with pay
Mun&Agr-Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture	3	Pilgrimage leave with pay
Mun&Agr-Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture	9	Bereavement leave with pay
Mun&Agr-Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture	2	Official duty leave with pay
Oil-National Oil and Gas Authority	47	Sick leave with pay
Oil-National Oil and Gas Authority	87	Annual leave with pay
Oil-National Oil and Gas Authority	6	Bereavement leave with pay
Oil-National Oil and Gas Authority	1	Accompanying leave with pay
Oil-National Oil and Gas Authority	1	Official duty leave with pay
Oil-National Oil and Gas Authority	15	Authorised absence leave with pay
Pmcourt-the Prime Minister's Court	2	Leave without pay
Pmcourt-the Prime Minister's Court	21	Sick leave with pay
Pmcourt-the Prime Minister's Court	1	Study leave with pay
Pmcourt-the Prime Minister's Court	43	Annual leave with pay
Pmcourt-the Prime Minister's Court	1	Maternity leave with pay
Pmcourt-the Prime Minister's Court	2	Bereavement leave with pay
Pmcourt-the Prime Minister's Court	1	Accompanying leave with pay
Pmcourt-the Prime Minister's Court	2	Authorised absence leave with pay
Pmecon-H. E. the Prime Minister's Consultatnt for Economic Affairs	4	Annual leave with pay
Pmecon-H. E. the Prime Minister's Consultatnt for Economic Affairs	1	Accompanying leave with pay
Social-Ministry of Social Development	44	Leave without pay
Social-Ministry of Social Development	877	Sick leave with pay
Social-Ministry of Social Development	4	Study leave with pay
Social-Ministry of Social Development	3	Widow leave with pay
Social-Ministry of Social Development	956	Annual leave with pay
Social-Ministry of Social Development	2	Wedding leave with pay
Social-Ministry of Social Development	23	Maternity leave with pay
Social-Ministry of Social Development	14	Pilgrimage leave with pay
Social-Ministry of Social Development	1	Suspension Without pay
Social-Ministry of Social Development	143	Bereavement leave with pay
Social-Ministry of Social Development	7	Accompanying leave with pay
Social-Ministry of Social Development	54	Official duty leave with pay
Social-Ministry of Social Development	81	Authorised absence leave with pay
Social-Ministry of Social Development	3	Unauthorised Absence Without pay
Tenders-Tenders Council	1	Leave without pay
Tenders-Tenders Council	23	Sick leave with pay
Tenders-Tenders Council	26	Annual leave with pay
Tenders-Tenders Council	2	Maternity leave with pay
Tenders-Tenders Council	3	Bereavement leave with pay
Transp-Ministry of Transportation	4	Leave without pay
Transp-Ministry of Transportation	342	Sick leave with pay
Transp-Ministry of Transportation	7	Study leave with pay
Transp-Ministry of Transportation	500	Annual leave with pay
Transp-Ministry of Transportation	1	Wedding leave with pay
Transp-Ministry of Transportation	8	Maternity leave with pay
Transp-Ministry of Transportation	2	Pilgrimage leave with pay
Transp-Ministry of Transportation	9	Bereavement leave with pay
Transp-Ministry of Transportation	8	Official duty leave with pay
Transp-Ministry of Transportation	2	Authorised absence leave with pay
Transp-Ministry of Transportation	7	Unauthorised absence Without pay
W&H-Ministry of Works and Housing	6	Leave without pay
W&H-Ministry of Works and Housing	1027	Sick leave with pay
W&H-Ministry of Works and Housing	30	Study leave with pay
W&H-Ministry of Works and Housing	1367	Annual leave with pay
W&H-Ministry of Works and Housing	4	Wedding leave with pay
W&H-Ministry of Works and Housing	19	Maternity leave with pay
W&H-Ministry of Works and Housing	9	Pilgrimage leave with pay
W&H-Ministry of Works and Housing	105	Bereavement leave with pay
W&H-Ministry of Works and Housing	3	Accompanying leave with pay
W&H-Ministry of Works and Housing	4	Official duty leave with pay
W&H-Ministry of Works and Housing	139	Authorised absence leave with pay
TOTAL FEMALE LEAVES	106416

(231)

The Ministry of Education is responsible for supervising kindergartens and training female kindergarten teachers at a special centre for this purpose under the ministry. The College of Education at the University of Bahrain has also established a department of kindergartens which grants an intermediate diploma. The Ministry of Education’s development programme for 2004/05 is now preparing kindergarten administrators and teachers in regular training courses for kindergarten teachers. The ministry will also soon establish a kindergarten teacher training centre in the area of Umm al-Hasam.

The table below shows the number of female workers in kindergartens and crèches by age group, sex and nationality:

Paragraph 231 – Table A

Age	Bahraini female	Non-Bahraini female	Total
20 and below	9		9
21-30	158	6	164
31-40	249	8	257
41-50	81	13	94
51-60	6	4	10
Total	503	31	534

Source : Ministry of Education.

IX. Bahraini Working Women’s Participation in the Domestic Labour Force

(233)

Over the past 30 years, Bahraini women have increased their participation in the domestic labour force in an ongoing manner. Women’s household activities and cottage industries are not calculated in the work force or GNP.

Paragraph 233 – Table A: Participation of Bahraini Females in the Labour Force in Census Years 1971, 1981, 1991, and 2001

	1971	1981	1991	2001
Males	35884	51949	73118	94352
Females	1843	9250	17544	32768
Total labour force	60011	142284	226448	308341
Level of female participation of (%)	4.9	15.1	19.4	25.8
Bahraini labour force	37727	61199	90662	127121

Source : Ministry of Labour.

(234)

The increase in Bahraini women’s share of the productive labour force reflects a major improvement in the situation of women in the labour force due to their entry into new employment sectors and holding of positions previously considered to be “male” positions.

Paragraph 234 – Table A:

Civil Service Bureau

Management Information Systems – HoRISon

All Government of Bahrain Employees by Sex in Each Ministry in 2006 and 2007

2006
Ministry	Total
Females	Males	Total
Finance	211	1,425	1,636
Commerce	124	266	390
National Oil and Gas Corporation	21	86	107
Education	9,154	6,760	15,914
Foreign Affairs	48	220	268
Health	4,906	4,467	9,373
Works and Housing	253	942	1,195
Cabinet Affairs	25	63	88
Information	131	282	413
Islamic Affairs	6	623	629
Justice	114	532	646
Labour	122	172	294
Ministry of State(2)	2	7	9
Transportation	131	1,108	1,239
Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture	34	486	520
Electricity & Water	346	3,008	3,354
General Organization for Youth and Sports	81	194	275
The Prime Minister's Court	21	85	106
H. E. the Deputy Prime Minister for Ministerial Affairs	2	13	15
H. E. the Deputy Prime Minister	4	13	17
The Consultant in PM Court	1	71	72
H. E. the Prime Minster’s Consultant for Cultural Affairs	-	4	4
H. E. The Prime Ministers Consultant for Economic Affairs	1	3	4
Pmsec-H. E. the Prime Minister's Advisor for Security Affairs	3	4	7
Civil Service Bureau	75	160	235
Broadcasting and TV Corp.	160	452	612
Ministry of State(3)	-	2	2
Ministry of State for Consult. & Parl.	9	24	33
Central Information Organization	141	125	266
Supreme Judicial Council	1	127	128
Survey and Land Registration Organization	54	282	336
Social Development	194	183	377
Legal Affairs	18	38	56
Tenders Council	11	16	27
Total	16,404	22,243	38,647

Paragraph 234- Table B

2007
Ministry	Total
Females	Males	Total
Finance	192	1,068	1,260
Commerce	151	275	426
National Oil and Gas Corporation	23	82	105
Education	9,409	6,931	16,340
Foreign Affairs	71	237	308
Health	5,218	3,620	8,838
Works and Housing	360	1,422	1,782
Cabinet Affairs	25	68	93
Information	140	276	416
Islamic Affairs	10	647	657
Justice	184	599	783
Labour	133	180	313
Ministry of State(2)	1	5	6
Transportation	137	1,098	1,235
Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture	30	476	506
Electricity and Water	356	2,967	3,323
General Organization for Youth and Sports	80	200	280
The Prime Minister's Court	27	89	116
H. E. the Deputy Prime Minister for Ministerial Affairs	2	13	15
H. E. the Deputy Prime Minister	5	12	17
The Consultant in PM Court	1	51	52
H. E. the Prime Minster’s Consultant for Cultural Affairs	-	4	4
H. E. the Prime Minister’s Consultant for Economic Affairs	1	3	4
Pmsec-H. E. the Prime Minister's Advisor for Security Affairs	3	4	7
Civil Service Bureau	81	166	247
Broadcasting and Tele. Corp.	170	470	640
Ministry of State(3)	-	2	2
Minisitry of State for Consult. and Parl.	13	39	52
Central Information Organization	146	131	277
Supreme Judicial Council	2	137	139
Survey and Land Registration Organization	52	292	344
Social Development	379	268	647
Legal Affairs	20	42	62
Tenders Council	11	17	28
Total	17,433	21,891	39,324

Paragraph 234 – Table A

Total Employees in Government of Bahrain

by Gender, 2006-2007

Year	Gender/Percentage
	Female	Female %	Male	Male %
2006	16404	42.45	22243	57.55
2007	17433	44.33	21891	55.67

Source: Civil Service Bureau.

Table 28: Working Bahrainis (15 and Older) According to Main Economic Activity and Sex in the 2001 Census

Economic activity	Males	Females	Total
Agriculture and livestock breeding	763	54	817
Fishing	862	30	892
Mines and quarries	1958	166	2124
Manufacturing industry	9606	3925	13531
Electricity, water, and gas	1270	82	1352
Construction	4061	351	4412
Trades and repair	8041	2414	10455
Restaurants and hotels	2020	427	2447
Transportation, storage, and communications	8230	1070	9300
Banks, insurance, and finance	3070	1534	4604
Real estate and leasing	4143	1076	5219
Public administration, defence, and security	29292	3910	33202
Educational institutions	3894	6528	10422
Hospitals, health centres, clinics, associations, social work	2426	3200	5662
Community activities and other services	3131	1104	4235
Employed in households	63	31	94
International and regional organizations	118	49	167
Not applicable	1936	116	2052
Total	84920	26067	110987

Source : Central Information Agency.

Table 29: Total Bahraini Workers in the Private Sector According to Main Occupation, Average Wage, and Sex as of February 2005

	Males	Females	Grand Total
Economic activity	Number	Average wage	Number	Average wage	Number	Average wage
Scientific and technical professions	6232	564	2750	323	8982	564
Management and supervisory professions	2427	1291	509	742	2936	1291
Clerical professions	7776	528	7841	289	15617	528
Sales	2763	344	1610	203	4373	344
Agriculture and fishing	280	277	17	255	297	277
Tradesmen and production	11294	416	2743	137	14037	416
Transportation and communications	6634	229	234	138	6363	229
Services and sports	3961	252	1116	170	5077	252
Other professions	7711	245	636	347	8347	245
Total	49070	4147	17456	2604	66534	4147

Source : General Organization for Social Insurance.

It should be noted that the level of women’s participation in commercial sector enterprises has risen markedly, as the following table shows:

Paragraph 234 – Table D: Participation of Women and Men in Commercial Sector Enterprises in 2006, Compared with 2005

Sector	Records at 31/12/2005	Records at 31/12/2006	Percentage increase / decrease (%)	Female participation in the sector (%)
	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total
Agriculture, hunting and forestry	67	14	81	93	24	117	38.8	71.4	44.4	21
Fishing	5		5	8		8	60		60	0
Mining and quarrying	11		11	12		12	9.1		9.1	0
Manufacturing	4331	3326	8159	5136	4632	9766	18.6	21.0	19.7	47
Electricity, gas and water installation	7	2	9	6	1	7	14.3	-50.0	-22.2	14
Construction	4355	502	4857	5408	1036	6444	24.2	106.4	32.7	16
Vehicle and motorcycle repair; personal and domestic goods	15341	8022	23363	16403	9433	25836	6.9	17.6	10.6	37
Hotel and restaurant	2560	2054	4614	2570	2071	4641	0.4	0.8	0.6	45
Transport, storage and communications	696	264	960	858	327	1185	23.3	23.9	2304	28
Financial services	55	3	58	51	5	56	-7.3	66.7	-3.4	9
Real estate and commerce	2747	766	3513	2932	841	3773	6.7	9.8	7.4	22
Education	46	20	66	40	20	60	-13.0	0.0	-9.1	33
Health and social work	9	8	17	4	4	8	55.6	-50.0	-52.9	50
Other community, social and personal services	1662	1795	3457	1749	2012	3761	5.2	12.1	8.8	53
Uncategorized records	827	245	1072	865	273	1138	4.6	11.4	6.2	24
Total	32719	17523	50242	36135	20677	56812	10.4	18.0	13.1	36

Source : Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

In addition to the above, Bahraini women are employed in the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) and Ministry of Interior in military and civilian positions.

Bahraini women form 5.2% of all officers in the BDF, as compared with men, 5.2% of all BDF soldiers and 40.5% of civilian and specialist positions in the BDF. Women represent 49.1% of all overseas delegates from the BDF. In the Ministry of Interior, women held 16.3% of civilian positions in 2007. As regards military positions, women formed 4% of officers and 6.3% of other ranks (below lieutenant) in 2007.

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Some women who are homemakers engage in self-employed, unregulated activity in simple handicrafts, limited for the most part to sewing and embroidering traditional clothing or making local dishes to help support their families or improve their standard of living, particularly in families with no income or limited income. The income from this work is not included in the GNP. These activities are also not subject to commercial registration regulations and are not covered by the social insurance system, because they are unregulated. Hence, there are no data or statistics on these activities, except for the “Producing Families Project”, which is implemented by the Ministry of Social Development. This project is intended to help families with limited incomes improve their own resources to make the shift from dependent to producing families. Through this project, the ministry provides training in household industries. It also provides raw materials and the necessary equipment at favourable prices and grants loans to some needy families to purchase raw materials and equipment for production and to facilitate the local marketing of products. Women are a basic element in the Producing Families Project, especially in activities relating to yarn spinning, sewing, embroidery, traditional handicrafts, incense, perfumes, flowers, and traditional confections.

The Ministry of Social Development has outlined progressive measures to support and empower Bahraini self-employed producing families. There follows a review of the most significant Ministry of Social Development projects for the benefit of women:

The Producing Home Project, beginning in March 2006, and designed to enable Bahraini producing families to engage in productive activities from the home in an organized manner. It is regulated through registration with the Ministry of Social Development in the national project to support producing families.

The Bahraini “Producing Families Project” designed, as the above project, to help families with limited income improve their own resources and make the shift from dependent to producing families. It is aimed particularly at women, given that they are a basic element in the Producing Families Project, especially in activities relating to yarn spinning, sewing, embroidery, traditional handicrafts, incense, perfumes, flowers, and traditional confections.

The Ministry of Social Development has built permanent workshops and centres which help to support and develop the national Producing Families Project. The most significant of these are:

Al-Asima Centre for Bahraini Handicrafts:

The Centre comprises 16 units for the permanent display of products. These have been furnished and equipped by the Ministry as attractive marketing units.

The Sitra Producing Families Centre: Kitchen Incubator:

In 2002, the Al-Raha Food Packing Factory opened with support from the TRAFCO food company. This represented an outstanding start for partnership projects with the private sector to support and develop Bahraini producing families projects. The Al-Raha factory project expanded in 2007 with the creation of the specialized Hasina food centre.

The Bahraini Producing Families site at BahrainInternationalAirport:

In May 2006, the Bahraini Producing Families site at Bahrain International Airport was opened, with the aim of helping producing families to market their products through a vitally important strategic window bustling with activity around the clock.

Financial support:

The Ministry of Social Devlopment strives to provide all means of support to producing families’ projects and programmes, including financing Bahraini producing families, through the following:

Development of the MicroStart Programme:

The Ministry has put substantial funds into developing the performance of the microfinancing project known as the “MicroStart Programme”, enabling it to play a prominent role in making available the necessary financial resources for families to begin developing their productive projects.

The Ministry has provided full support to the programme since its inception in 1999, pursuant to an agreement with the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain and with support from the United Nations Development Programme. The programme continues to operate successfully through three societies based upon it: the Child and Motherhood Welfare Society, Awal Women’s Association and Al-Islah Association. The programme is currently being developed in a number of ways, including increasing financial support from the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain and assisting the civil society associations which oversee the programme to increase their institutional capacities.

The founding of the Family Bank, a national microfinancing bank:

In March 2007, the Ministry of Social Development signed a joint memorandum of understanding with the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh to create the Bahraini Family Bank with capital of BD 15 million. It is expected that the bank will open in the course of 2008. The goals of the proposed bank are to empower Bahraini families and facilitate access to microfinance services as a source of individual self-employment.

The Disabled Services Centre:

On 12 December 2007, this Centre was opened to provide services to the disabled, in line with the programmes and policy adopted by the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Centre’s programme is based upon supporting and employing persons with special needs of both sexes. The private sector, represented by the Social Work Fund, has contributed to the support of the Centre.

(237)

Participation in Trade Union Activity

Woman have been involved in trade union activity since the promulgation of Royal Decree No. 33 of 2002 Regulating Labour Union Activity (24 September 2002). As of December 2005, some 32 unions had been formed, four of them headed by women including, the Kindergarten Union, the General Union of Textile Factory Workers and the al-Raja School Workers’Union. Women form approximately 15.2% of the membership on the boards of directors of unions and a women has recently been appointed to the board of the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions. The level of womens’participation in union activity is encouraging, given the time-frame of organized union activity. The following table shows the statistics on womens’involvement in trade unions:

Paragraph 237 - Table A

No.	Union	No. of members	No. of women members	No. of board members	No. of women board members	Percentage of women on the board (%)	Comments
1	Batelco	746	101	15	2	13.3
2	Gulf Petrochemcial Industries Co.	97	8	9	0	0
3	Free Zones Workers	42	15	7	2	28.6	Female Treasurer
4	Hotel and Catering Workers	275	5	11	3	27.3
5	Jawad Business Group Workers	48	27	7	0	0
6	Kindergarten Workers	151	151	7	7	100	Entire board
7	TRAFCO	44	1	7	1	14.3
8	Delmon Poultry Co. Workers	140	6	7	1	14.3
9	Gulf Air	100	29	11	0	0
10	Midal Cables Workers	61	10	7	1	14.3	Female deputy General Secretary (2002); Female Secretary (2003)
11	Bapco Workers	850	54	15	1	6.7
12	Bahrain Aluminium Co. Workers	163	8
13	Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Co. (ASRI) Workers	400	18	9	0	0
14	Bahrain National Gas Co. (BANAGAS) Workers	165	20	7	0	0
15	Bahrain Airport Services (BAS) Workers	72	9	11	1	9.1	Female Treasurer (2002)
16	Financial Workers	115	18	9	1	11.1	Female deputy Treasurer (2003)
17	Hempel Paints Co. Workers	28	1	7	0	0
18	Bahrain Flour Mills Co. Workers	44	2	7	0	0
19	Gulf Aluminium Rolling Mill Co. Workers	682	18	11	0	0
20	Bahrain Aviation Fuelling Co. Workers	96	3
21	Air Stewards and Stewardesses	58	1	9	1	11.1	Female board member (2003)
22	Travel and Tourism Workers	33	8	9	2	22.2
23	Insurance Sector Workers	52	3	7	0	0	Female Secretary (2003)
24	Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry Workers	43	11	7	1	14.3	Female Secretary (2003)
25	Bahrain Textile Workers	33	33	11	11	100	President (2003)
26	Al-Raja School Workers	21	21			100	President (2003)
27	Seef Real Estate Co.Workers	57	5	7	0	0	Female Secretary (2006)
28	EDS Co. Workers	35	6	5	2	40	President (2003); Treasurer (2003)
29	Ebrahim Khalil Kanoo Group Workers	143	6	7	0	0
30	Bahrain International Mining Co. Workers	42	3	5	0	0
31	Global Logistics Bahrain Co. Workers	39	1	5	0	0
32	Bramco Workers	63	1	7	0	0
Total	4732	603	243	37	15.2

Source : Ministry of Labour.

(240)

XII. Foreign Working Women

Like other countries of the Arabian Gulf, Bahrain hosts large foreign communities. Foreigners resident in Bahrain total 283,549, including 195,671 males and 87,878 females. Most of the foreign residents work in various fields. The following table shows the activities in which foreigners engage.

Paragraph 240 – Table A: Total Persons Registered with the General Organisation for Social Insurance, by Main Profession, Sex, Nationality and Average Wage (2005)

Main Profession	Bahraini	Non-Bahraini	Total
Men	Average wage	Women	Average wage	Men	Average wage	Women	Average wage	Men	Average wage	Women	Average wage
Labouring and technical	6236	540	2716	319	14003	490	2190	367	20239	505	4906	340
Management and supervisory	2393	1266	499	728	3244	1311	183	866	5637	1292	682	765
Secretarial	7727	412	7815	279	3390	285	814	372	11117	373	8629	288
Sales	2745	333	1617	198	6186	228	476	224	8931	260	2093	204
Agriculture and fisheries	287	269	17	253	850	91	-	-	1137	136	17	253
Industrial and production	11369	400	2717	136	74622	96	2506	56	85991	136	5223	98
Transport and communica-tions	6609	225	230	136	6498	101	33	166	13107	164	263	140
Services	4005	246	1063	167	21539	98	3121	141	25544	121	4184	148
Other	7602	237	614	338	40294	77	268	215	47896	103	882	300
Total	48973	396	17288	261	170626	156	9591	210	219599	209	26879	243

Source : Central Information Agency.

Paragraph 240 – Table B: Total Persons Registered with the General Organisation for Social Insurance, by Main Profession, Sex, Nationality and Average Wage (2006)

Main Profession	Bahraini	Non-Bahraini	Total
Men	Average wage	Women	Average wage	Men	Average wage	Women	Average wage	Men	Average wage	Women	Average wage
Labouring and technical	6662	561	3035	326	16291	500	2569	374	22953	518	5604	348
Management and supervisory	2565	1321	604	739	4143	1274	292	835	6708	1292	896	770
Secretarial	8253	414	8513	279	3633	281	925	359	11886	374	9438	287
Sales	3052	350	1838	206	8904	191	796	189	11956	231	2634	201
Agriculture and fisheries	281	285	15	239	1390	78	6	263	1671	113	21	246
Industrial and production	10300	396	2095	146	87843	93	2500	60	98143	124	4595	99
Transport and communica-tions	7345	226	253	143	9034	92	30	156	16379	152	283	145
Services	4132	236	1327	167	27614	90	3941	135	31746	109	5268	143
Other	10321	290	1018	394	55282	80	602	224	65603	113	1620	331
Total	52911	404	18698	276	214134	150	1161	215	267045	200	30359	252

Source : Ministry of Labour.

(241)

Foreign women, excluding household servants, enjoy the same rights enjoyed by Bahraini women under the labour laws. There are 21,890 foreign women working as household servants. Women’s organizations, civil society organizations, and official, governmental institutions make considerable efforts to monitor the legal and actual conditions of household servants through a mechanism that has been established to follow up on complaints filed by such workers with the Ministry of Labour. Efforts are also being made to amend the Labour Law to provide expanded legislative and legal protection to household servants.

(249)

Measures have been taken with a view toward the future to strengthen and secure gender equality, equal employment opportunities, equal treatment of men and women, and the economic position of working women and their families. These measures are intended to eliminate any existing, possible, or passing form of gender discrimination. They include: organization of a “Sexual Equality Week” by the SCW in cooperation with women associations and human rights associations in Bahrain, including the holding of a national conference on gender equality; educational activities to correct gender role misconceptions and to heighten women’s awareness of their rights and roles under international conventions on women’s rights on a par with similar such activities organized in other countries, which have a major social and educational yield; intensified media campaigns on radio and television; lectures discussing working women’s rights to enhance women’s legal awareness of channels for protecting women from all types of employment discrimination and to empower women to exercise their economic rights through equal access to production resources, labour, markets, and trade; action to unify maternity leave for women working in the public and private sectors to thereby strengthen working women’s rights; and action toward Bahrain’s ratification of the ILO Convention concerning Maternity Protection (CO103 of 1952), which protects women as mothers and workers and helps them reconcile their family duties and employment responsibilities by providing 12 weeks of maternity leave for working women. The Decree on Unemployment Insurance was passed in 2007 to ease the poverty of unemployed women and meet their subsistence needs during periods of unemployment; urgent efforts to create decent jobs for women to secure their economic position against poverty and need; and intensified training workshops on the position of women in the labour market to enhance women’s awareness of their rights.

(253)

The private sector’s role in providing health care has grown recently, with the number of private hospitals increasing from 6 to eleven. There are also many small hospitals, clinics, and medical complexes. The Ministry of Health recently announced a health strategy that covers the general objectives, orientations, and policies to be pursued over the next decade, focussing on the development of preventive care and treatment, citizen participation on health councils, the broad opening of the health sector to investment, and the promotion of medical tourism.

(257)

Following are the medical preventive and treatment services provided to women in the various stages of their lives:

1.Periodic examination of the child and nutrition.

2.Inoculations.

3.School health and adolescent health.

4.Premarital testing.

5.Prenatal, birth, and postnatal care.

6.Family planning services.

7.Treatment and preventive services for women’s diseases.

8.Treatment and preventive services for chronic, infectious, and non-infectious diseases.

9.Geriatric care.

10.Health education services.

11.Home visit services for persons with special needs.

12.Community health services.

Regarding reproductive health, the percentage of pregnant women making repeat visits to clinics at the national level has reached 80.4%, and 98-99% of births occur in hospitals under medical supervision.

3. Prenatal, Birth, and Postnatal Health Care for Women

Premarital Testing and Guidance and Counselling Services

(260)

All of these services are reflected positively in the percentage of normal-weight newborns (2.5 kilograms and higher) at birth, which was 92.1% in 2006.

Despite the high rate of multiple visits by pregnant women to health centre pregnancy clinics, the percentage of women visiting clinics six weeks after delivery for examinations does not exceed 62% according to a family health study (1995).Some analytical studies show that women’s lack of concern for themselves following delivery is due to their focus on the newborn child, their fear of the gynaecological examination and lack of conviction in its importance, and their apprehension over the unavailability of a female physician to conduct the examination instead of a male physician.

(261)

According to statistics of the Women and Birth Division in the Ministry of Health, the main reasons for pregnant women’s admission to hospitals in 2003 include: gestational diabetes, 3%; sickle cell anaemia carriers, 8.6%; sickle cell anaemia sufferers, 0.6%; preeclampsia, 2.7%; and other reasons, e.g., asthma, heart disease, metrorrhagia resulting from pregnancy, etc., 3.4%.

(262)

Births in all maternity hospitals in Bahrain totalled 15,053 in 2006, compared to 13,487 in 2002. Of these births, 68.5% occurred in Ministry of Health hospitals, of which 21% were caesarean and 10% premature, compared 15,198 births in 2005, of which 19% were caesarean and 10% premature. Of total pregnancies, 13.2% were miscarriages.

In 2006, miscarriages totalled 1,223 per 100,000 of the female population aged 15-49 and pregnancy, birth, or post-partum complications, including spontaneous abortion, affected 5,514 per 100,000 of the female population aged 15-49 in 2006 at al-Salmaniyah Medical Complex.

Inoculation of Pregnant Women

(263)

The services offered to pregnant women include routine examinations to detect any complications in pregnancy from German measles. The annual rate of pregnant women inoculated against this disease totalled approximately 95.2%,. One female case of German measles was recorded in 2006 and 2 male cases. Tetanus vaccinations given to pregnant women in two or more doses covered 44.3% of pregnant women in 2006, while 92.5% of children were inoculated at birth against tetanus. Most pregnant women receive tetanus vaccinations in childhood or school inoculation campaigns, and their inoculation rate normally declines with time. (Source: Ministry of Health.)

Paragraph 263 – Table A: Percentage Coverage of Pregnant Women and Children (Age 1-6) in 2006

Pregnant women who received two or more tetanus vaccine doses	44.3%
Children protected at birth against tetanus	92.5%

Source : Ministry of Health, 2006

(265)

Regarding inoculation of children, inoculations began in Bahrain in 1956 with inoculation against tuberculosis. In 1957, a triple inoculation was administered for diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis [DTP]. In 1974, a national campaign was initiated based on international inoculation recommendations.

The rate of immunization of infants and children in 2006 was as follows: DTP and polio, 98.4%; triple inoculation for measles, German measles, and mumps, about 100% for the first dose and 99% for the second; third dose for infectious hepatitis B, 98%; and third dose of the vaccination against haemophilus influenza type B, 98.4%.

There are no gender differences regarding inoculations. Typically, inoculations are administered at health centres, government hospitals, private hospitals, or private clinics.

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According to the statistics of the Public Health and Infectious Disease Division of the Ministry of Health, no infectious diseases—e.g., diphtheria, pertussis, neonatal tetanus, tetanus, and polio—were recorded in the past five years. Measles affected 4% per 100,000 of the population in 2006.

The Ministry of Health, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and the Bahraini Association for Genetic Blood Diseases, has for a number of consecutive years conducted periodic examinations of male and female students in 10th grade to detect and enhance awareness of genetic blood diseases to enable students to make important decisions in their lives regarding commitment and marriage. The rate of affliction with sickle cell anaemia among students in 2006 was 0.93%, and the rate of carriers of Thalassemia was 3.64%.

General Indicators of the Health Situation of Women in Bahrain

Mortality Rate of Mothers During Pregnancy, Childbirth, and After Birth

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The mortality rate of women during pregnancy, childbirth, and after birth is a primary measure of the general health level in any country. In Bahrain, the rate is low compared to international rates, not exceeding 13.3 per 100,000 live births in 2006. The causes of death include sickle cell anaemia, haemorrhaging and the complications thereof, toxaemia and high blood pressure. The rate of [health care] coverage for women was 100% (at least one visit) in 2006, and the rate of supervision of birth was 99.4% in 2006. The availability of service in different areas of the country is similar, with no discrimination.

Average Life Expectancy at Birth

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The average life expectancy at birth in Bahraini society has risen noticeably, meriting Bahrain a high ranking in United Nations Human Development Reports five consecutive years. In 2006, the average life expectancy was 73.1 years for males and 77.3 years for females. The overall rate for both sexes rose to 74.8 years compared to 63 years in 1970. In this regard, Bahrain ranks equally with the advanced countries. The rate of newborns at normal weight (2.5 kilograms or more) at birth is 92.1%.

Child Mortality Rate

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Thanks to the available services, most health indicators have improved. In 2003, child mortality rates fell compared to the past. The infant mortality rate totalled 7.3 per 1000 live births. The rate of foetal death around birth dropped to 10.3 per 1000 births, compared to 14.8 in 1998. The mortality rate among children under five was 9.5 per 1000 live births in 2003, compared to 11.1 in 1998. The rate of stillborns was 7.2, and the rate of miscarriages was 87.5 per 1000 live births in 2003. These rates are considered low compared to other countries of the world.

The infant mortality rate was 7.6 per 1,000 live births in 2006. The rate of foetal death at birth was 8.5 per 1,000 births in 2006. The rate of child mortality (less than five years) was 10.1 per 1,000 live births in 2006. The rate of stillbirths was 6.2 per 1,000 live births in 2006. The rate of premature births was 102.6 per 1,000 live births in 2006.

IV. Women’s Diseases in Bahrain

1. Periodic Examination of Women to Detect Breast and Cervical Cancer

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Bahrain is a pioneer in providing periodic examination services for women for the early detection of breast and cervical cancer at all health centres. At-risk and actual cases are referred to specialists at al-Salmaniyah Medical Centre (the government hospital) where precision diagnostic instruments and qualified staff are available to conduct the necessary tests and surgical operations.

The Ministry of Health has provided preventive services since 1993. However, these services still do not reach all targeted women due primarily to the low level of awareness among women of the importance of conducting such examinations and the inconvenience of having to return for periodic examinations.

Therefore, only 10% of women undergo breast examinations and only 50% undergo cervical examinations.

2. Cancer Rates

The national programme for the early detection of breast cancer by X-ray has been extended to all the country’s governorates, with all five being provided with a health centre equipped with a mammogram and equipment to develop X-ray film.

According to the statistics for the period from August 2005 to March 2008, 26% of the target group of women has been examined. This is basically attributable to poor awareness among women of the importance of such examinations. Of all women examined, 12% were referred to al-Salmaniyah Medical Centre for diagnosis and follow-up. Only 80 cases of breast cancer were detected.

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The Bahraini Cancer Registry was initiated in 1994 under a ministerial decree. All physicians and hospitals have been urged to report any cases of cancer and tumours in Bahrain. These cases are then monitored to determine the most important types and rates of incidence of cancer in Bahrain. This makes it possible to plan protection and treatment and determine cancer causes if any.

According to the statistics for 2004, there were 402 registered cases of cancer, 47% affecting men and 53% affecting women.

Breast cancer is the main form of cancer among women in Bahrain, in comparison with all the Gulf States, accounting for 34.7% of female cancer cases in 2004,

The other forms of cancer among women in Bahrain are lung cancer (8% of cases), thyroid cancer (6.1%) and ovarian cancer (14%), compared with lung cancer (15.3%), cancer of the bladder (9.5%) and prostate cancer (6.3%) among men.

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The aforesaid registry for 2004 shows that 5.8% of all types of cancer occur among males before age 15 and 46% after age 64, and among 4.2% of females before age 15 and 22.1% after age 64.

The average age of affliction with cancer is 60 among men and 50 among women. The incidence of cancer increases with age.

The crude rate of incidence of cancer among Bahrainis was 85.5 per 100,000 males and 106.7 per 100,000 females.

Among Bahraini children under 15 in 2004, there were 20 recorded cases of cancer, 11 among boys and 9 among girls. Five cases of leukaemia, two cases of cancer of the nervous system, two cases of intestinal cancer and two cases of other cancers were recorded among boys, compared to six cases of cancer of the nervous system and two cases of leukaemia among girls.

AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency)

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The incidence of AIDS among adults in 2006 was 0.4% per 100000 persons. An MICS shows that 94% of Bahraini women age 15-44 have heard of AIDS. Questioned about their knowledge of methods to protect against the disease, 67% mentioned commitment to the marital relationship or one partner, 43% mentioned the use of condoms in a sexual relationship, and 25% mentioned abstinence from sex. Generally, only 21% of the sample possessed adequate information on protecting themselves from AIDS.

Ministry of Health data and statistics for 2006 show that the number of Bahrainis afflicted with AIDS or carrying the virus is 319 since 1986. In 134 cases, 29 remain alive and 105 have died. (Source: Ministry of Health.)

AIDS cases among Bahrainis by age and sex since 1986 are 17 among women and 117 among men. Cases among men are concentrated in the 20-44 age group. There are four cases among women in the 20-34 age group, four in the 35-44 age group and four in the 0-4 age group (two males and two females). The other cases are distributed among other age groups.

Other Sexually Transmitted Diseases

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According to periodic data issued by the Ministry of Health, there were 195 new cases of syphilis in 2006, of which 88 were women. The number of gonorrhoea cases in the same year totalled 57, including seven among women.

The rate of incidence of type A infectious hepatitis was 19.4 per 100,000 population in 2006 compared to 20.7% in 2000. Type B infectious hepatitis affected 2.8 per 100,000 in 2006, compared to 2.6% in 2000. The drop is attributed to the higher rates of inoculation among children and school students.

It is noteworthy that the symptoms of these diseases take longer to appear in women compared to men, so that women seek medical attention after the disease and complications therefrom have worsened. (Source: Ministry of Health.)

V. Health Care for the Elderly in Bahrain

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The elderly (age 60 and above) in Bahrain constituted 4% of the population in 2006, thanks to the ongoing improvements in health care services enjoyed by the country’s population from birth to death. Women constituted 48.4% of the elderly in 2006.

A National Commission on the Elderly was established to formulate a national strategy to advance the conditions of the elderly. The government has sought through its ministries and authorities to provide the best services and means of care for the elderly, particularly through the services provided to the elderly by the Ministry of Social Development and Ministry of Health. These two ministries have built homes that provide health and social care for the elderly. In addition, the private sector and the civil volunteer sector play an outstanding role in this area. (Source: Ministry of Health.)

VII. Women Health Workers

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The number of trained and qualified health and technical staff in the health sector rose to 8397 in 2006, compared to 7201 in 2002.

In 2006, citizens constituted 82.1% of the workforce, and Bahraini women constituted 53.9% of the national workforce. The health sector is one of the largest government sectors that employs Bahraini women, after the education sector (women comprised 75.8% of the health labour force in 2006).

Statistics for 2006 show that 1,215male and female physicians worked in the government sector and 833 worked in the private sector, for a total of 2,048 physicians, compared to 1054 physicians, both male and female, of whom 891 worked in the government sector and 163 in the private sector in 2000, for a rate of 27.6 physicians per 10,000 population in 2006, compared to 15.3 in 2000. In 2006, there was a total of 305 dentists, i.e., 4.1 dentists per 10,000 population, compared to 2.0 in 2000.

In 2006, 50% of all physicians working in the Ministry of Health were female and 67% of all dentists were female. The proportion of Bahraini physicians and dentists (male and female) was 78% and 96% respectively. In 2006, there was a total of 4,087 nurses, 3,144 in the government sector and 943 in the private sector, compared to 2,603 (2,300 in the government sector and 303 in the private sector) in 2000. (Source: Ministry of Health.)

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IX. Health Services Provided to Foreign Women

The Ministry of Health provides general health services to all Bahraini citizens and foreigners without discrimination. Foreign women resident in Bahrain benefit from the health services provided in institutions and centres subordinate to the Ministry of Health. The following table shows the type of services provided by the Ministry of Health to foreign women:

Paragraph 290 – Table A

Type of Service	No. of visits to outpatient clinics (non-Bahraini)	Females (non-Bahraini) (%)	Patients admitted (non-Bahraini)	Females (non-Bahraini) (%)
Secondary health care: al-Salmaniya Medical Centre	145,419	32.4	9,216	46.5
Emergencies	64,739	33.5
Outpatient clinics	80,680	31.5
Patients admitted			9,216	46.5
Other obstetrics hospitals			218	100
Psychiatric Hospital	2,550	42.3	220	42.7
Outpatient clinics	2,550	42.3
Patients admitted			220	42.7
Total	783,592	36.2	9,654	47.6

Source : Ministry of Health.

The Ministry of Health provides primary and secondary health care treatment to all foreign residents without exception in exchange for nominal fees for visits to a health centre or outpatient clinic. Treatment is free in emergency cases.

I. The Right to Family Benefits

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Family benefits in Bahrain are granted by numerous agencies and governed by different laws. There are: social allowances added to salaries; health insurance provided by some private-sector companies and banks; and monetary assistance for poor families provided by several civil associations, e.g., the Islamic charitable associations, the Royal Charity Foundation, which is supported by His Majesty the King, and the Ministry of Social Development. The role of the Ministry of Social Development is not limited to providing sibsidies but goes beyond that to concern with the social advancement of Bahrainis through adoption of a series of projects, programmes, and services, some of which are being implemented, such as comprehensive social centres for the disabled and elderly, training and qualification development services, a day care facility for the elderly, a care facility for beggars and the homeless, a children’s care facility, mobile units for the elderly and disabled, shelters for domestic violence and abuse victims (e.g., a special safe house for female victims of violence), and the above-mentioned National Project to Support and Develop Producing Families (recipient of the Award of Sheikha Sabika Bint Ibrahim Al Khalifah, the wife of His Majesty the King, for producing families). These projects are in addition to the social insurance benefits and pensions mentioned above.

In addition, the Minister of Public Works and Housing issued Decree No. 12 of 2004 (4 February 2004) granting Bahraini women the right to use housing services. This decree entitles Bahraini women who are working or have monthly fixed incomes and support their families but do not own real estate to use one of the existing housing services, e.g., to obtain a housing loan or model home being built by the Ministry of Housing. This decree ensures the right of divorced women raising children to use housing services, safeguarding this right for women as citizens.

II. The Right to Obtain Banking Loans, Real-Estate Mortgages, and Other Forms of Financial Credit

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Bahraini women may obtain a loan from a commercial bank in the country just as men may, according to the same terms, e.g., possession of a suitable source of income which would enable them to repay the loan. A woman may obtain a loan without the consent of her husband or guardian. The granting of a loan depends on her ability to repay the loan or her possession of mortgagable real estate.

The Bahraini Development Bank specializes in supporting and financing new private enterprises. According to its own data, it granted Bahraini business women loans totalling BD 2,530,000 for businesses and commercial enterprises, including three loans in 2001, 15 in 2002, 12 in 2003, and 36 in 2004. Total loans up to 2008 amounted to BD 29.938 million and there were 328 projects in various sectors. (Source: Bahrain Development Bank.)

In addition, many companies and banks in the country grant housing loans to their female employees according to the criteria and conditions applied to males in the same establishment. However, specific figures are not available on the extent to which women take advantage of bank loans provided by the commercial banks in general.

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Women and men are treated equally before the courts. A woman may bring an action and file a complaint in her own personal name. Bahraini law clearly permits women to practice as attorneys. The number of female Bahraini attorneys is 111 trainee attorneys and 61 practising attorneys. (Source: Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs.). Female attorneys are entitled to represent their clients before the courts and various judicial authorities and to serve as members of juries and arbitration panels.

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Women also benefit, equally with men, from all legal services, including legal assistance if they are unable to bear the expenses of a legal action and attorney fees.(Source: Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs.)Legal aid is provided under Royal Decree No. 26 (1980), promulgating the Attorneys’ Act and, in particular, section 5 of the Act which determines the manner of granting of this benefit in civil and criminal cases. In civil cases, the Act stipulates the formation of a legal aid committee comprised of three attorneys chosen by the Minister of Justice to consider requests for assistance referred by the Minister and to ascertain that the necessary conditions for granting aid have been met. In criminal cases, aid is given by decision of H.E. the Minister of Justice. Cases are determined by the following:

If one party to the action is impoverished and unable to pay the attorneys’ fees;

If several attorneys refuse to accept to act in the case;

If an attorney has died or has been prevented from professional practice;

In cases where the law requires or a court demands the appointment of an attorney for an accused or juvenile for whom a defence attorney has not been chosen; in such cases, H.E. the Minister of Justice shall issue a decision.

The number of cases referred to the legal aid committee from May 2007 to February 2008 may be enumerated as follows:

Paragraph 306 – Table A

Sex	Number
Male	7 cases
Female	18 cases

In the period 5/7/1007 to 19/3/2008, 606 women benefited from exemptions from legal fees.

All official agencies, led by the SCW and women’s civil organizations, have been noticeably active in raising women’s awareness of their rights before the judiciary, particularly in family cases. Such activities include holding relevant roundtables and workshops, including a workshop held by the SCW at the end of April 2004 under the heading, “The Situation of Women in Substantive and Procedural Family Provisions”. The SCW also published a woman’s guide to litigation procedures before the Shariah courts and held a training course on Islamic judicial procedures during 19-21 March 2005. (Source: Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs.)