NNA - Bahrain celebrates the 22nd anniversary of the establishment of the Supreme Council for Women (SCW), which falls on August 22 of each year.

It is considered a national occasion where the efforts and contributions of the SCW are highlighted, alongside the achievements and progress of Bahraini women.

The role of the SCW represents an essential component of the comprehensive development process led by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

The Royal decision to establish the SCW in 2001, chaired by Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, wife of His Majesty the King; institutionalised the efforts to drive the empowerment and advancement of Bahraini women so they can reach their full potential in all fields.

The SCW created a turning point for Bahraini women, as it was mandated with seeing through the advancement of Bahraini women and protecting their rights by applying the principles of equal opportunities and gender parity.

The organizational structure of the SCW encompassed a comprehensive framework to thoroughly examine the reality of women in Bahrain and create building blocks for the future. It built on the engagement of Bahraini women in the society since the beginning of the last century, to create a bigger momentum of participation for women who fully enjoy their national rights.

The leadership of HRH Princess Sabeeka, her ambitious vision and unprecedented initiatives enabled the SCW to develop strategies that serve its goals and the national mechanism on women affairs.

The efforts of the SCW also come to support the ongoing work of civil society organisations. This created a comprehensive and sustainable framework of deliverables that continues to benefit Bahraini women.

Supported by the Royal vision and directives, and the support and numerous initiatives of the government headed by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister; the SCW has succeeded in leading the process of the advancement of Bahraini women on a solid foundation. This has made Bahrain one of the most prominent countries in the region and the world in fulfilling the requirements of women’s empowerment and advancement and gender equity. Its experience in supporting women has become highly recognised regionally and internationally, and a model that international institutions specialised in women matters affirm is worthy of application in many countries.

These successes reflect the council's mission, which aims to ensure the achievement of family stability within the framework of family and community cohesion, and to raise the ability of women to participate competitively in the development process based on the foundations of equal opportunities and the integration of women's needs in it, in a way that provides them with renewed opportunities to advance their choices towards quality of life and lifelong learning, through integrating efforts with partners and allies, making SCW a centre for national expertise specialized in women's affairs.

For more than two decades, the SCW, guided by the initiatives led by HRH Princess Sabeeka, was able to achieve tangible success on national and international levels. This has been embodied in the ability of Bahraini women to assume key positions in public service as ministers, the Shura Council and the Council of Representatives, diplomatic corps, judiciary and other executive positions in the public and private sectors, as well as business, sports, arts, culture, science and other domains.

The statistics of 2022 show that Bahraini women constitute about 43% of the overall national workforce. In the public sector, women make up 56% of the workforce, whereas 35% of the workforce in the private sector are women. Forty four per cent of active commercial registration owners are women.

The achievements of the SCW over the past 22 years have been reflected in international reports and indices on the status of women.

The Gender Gap Report issued by the World Economic Forum on June 21, 2023 showed that Bahrain has advanced to second place in the GCC on the report’s index that measures the global gender gap with the aim of reducing it. Bahrain's score in the report was (66.6%), whereas the global average was 68%; which indicates significant progress. Bahrain ranked third in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, moving up six places from last year's results.

The SCW was able to become an official reference point for expertise and knowledge in women's affairs on regional and international levels. It forged multiple partnerships with specialized international organisations, agencies and bodies, which resulted in Bahrain obtaining membership in the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations for the period (2017-2021), and the membership of the Executive Council of the United Nations Women for the period (2017-2019), and the presidency of the 36th session of the Arab Women’s Committee of the League of Arab States. The SCW's efforts also led it to winning Honorary Award for Excellence in the Field of Arab Family Care in 2020, presented by the Regional Network for Social Responsibility, and presiding over the team preparing the joint GCC action strategy in the field of women.--BNA 

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