Manama, Chairperson of the Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee at the Shura Council, Dalal Jassim Al-Zayed, has affirmed that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Arab and Islamic countries are committed to the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in a way that not violate the provisions of the Islamic Sharia and those of their constitutions.
She indicated that the coordination committee established between the legislative branch and the Supreme Council for Women (SCW) has taken the necessary legislative procedures within the remarks of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee).
She called on CEDAW Committee to take into consideration the posts held by women in the Parliament and the percentage of women in the National Assembly, which, she said, are indices of women’s political participation and enjoyment of their political rights.
Al-Zayed made the statements while participating in the webinar organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union on “Parliamentary Engagement in CEDAW implementation”, moderated by Shura Council members and First Vice-President of the IPU’s Bureau of Women Parliamentarians, Hala Fayez.
Al-Zayed asserted that the kingdom has implemented a series of measures to encourage women’s participation in the elections and increase the number of female MPs, through the programmes launched by the SCW and the Bahrain Institute for Political Development (BIPD).
The organising committee of the webinar praised the establishment of the joint coordination committee between the SCW and the legislative branch, hailing the role played by the panel in following up on the implementation of CEDAW provisions and preparing the reports required by the CEDAW Committee.
Source: Bahrain News Agency