Bahraini women call for having civil status law
Bahrain, Politics, 9/25/2002

A group of women activists in Bahrain on Tuesday handed a memorandum for the minister of justice and Islamic affairs in Bahrain, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Khaled al-Khaleifa, including, in particular the demand to release a united "civil status law," and canceling the Sharia judiciary and bringing civil status issues before civilians courts.

During their meetings with the minister of justice, Bahraini women lawyers, activists and divorcees submitted 8 demands concentrate mainly on issuing a unified law for the civil status with the participation of women societies and the civil society establishments concerned with the law and family issues.

The women also debated complaints and cases they consider as humiliating to women in the Sharia courts. The women activists called in their memorandum to open investigations in previous sentences taken in Sharia cases and to reconsider them, and to abrogate the Sharia judiciary and debating the issues of the family and the woman before the civil judiciary and under the umbrella of the civil status law. The memorandum also called for the retirement of the judges of the Sharia courts and to be replaced by young members, and to hand over children in divorce cases in social centers instead of police centers in order not to cause mental harm to the children. They also called for forming trial courts for Juveniles.

The chairman of the women committee, Ghada Jamsheer, stressed that the situation in the Sharia courts is unbearable where women are exposed to great discrimination against them. She said that the Sharia judges continuously humiliate the women, and has always prejudice against women from the very beginning.

For his part, the minister of justice said that a higher committee under his chairmanship is currently studying two drafts for the civil status laws, proposed by a six- member judges committee and another committee of Shiite judges so as to issue a unified law under the name of "family law." The minister said that any complaints concerning the judges can be submitted to the higher council for judiciary which has the authority to evaluate the judges.

Previous Stories:
  Bahraini women determined to build experience in political campaigning   (9/24/2002)
  Bahraini women and the next parliamentary elections   (9/23/2002)
  Bahrain: First woman to nominate herself for parliamentary elections   (9/14/2002)

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