Lulwa Al Awadhi
Encyclopedia
Lulwa Al Awadhi is a leading Bahrani women's rights advocate and the Secretary General of the Supreme Council for Women
, the main women's organisation in Bahrain
. She holds the rank of 'honorary cabinet minister' which she was given in 2002 when the Council was established as part of the opening of civil society in the small Gulf Kingdom.
She has been at the forefront on the Council's campaign to get parliament to introduce a Personal Status Law to protect women's rights in issues of divorce and inheritance. This has led her to clash with Islamists who have promised 'blood on the streets' if women are given such rights. She has been one of the few political leaders in Bahrain to challenge Islamists directly, saying that they are not respecting women's rights and instead of engaging in debating are personalising confrontations http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/1yr_arc_Articles.asp?Article=125278&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=28220&date=10-26-2005. However, she has been careful to keep debate on the proposed law within religious terms, telling the Gulf News: "I was the first Bahraini women and lawyer to realise that in the seventies there was a difference between religious rulings and what is being implemented."http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Kuwait/10025508.html
She has been key in drawing up the Supreme Council's strategy to assist female candidates contest 2006's election. Since 2002 women have had the right to vote and contest parliamentary and local elections, and Ms Al Awardhi has urged women to fully utilise their rights: "Women must be able to identify all relevant provisions in the Constitution and the means to exercise their political rights."http://www.bahrainembassy.org/democracy-04.htm
Ms Al Awadhi's background is in Law, and along with Haya Rashed Al Khalifa
(who subsequently went on to become the President of the United Nations General Assembly
) she became one of the first two practising female lawyers in the 1970s.
Supreme Council for Women
The Supreme Council for Women is Bahrain’s advisory body to the government on women's issues. It is chaired by Sheikha Sabika bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, the wife of Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa...
, the main women's organisation in Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
. She holds the rank of 'honorary cabinet minister' which she was given in 2002 when the Council was established as part of the opening of civil society in the small Gulf Kingdom.
She has been at the forefront on the Council's campaign to get parliament to introduce a Personal Status Law to protect women's rights in issues of divorce and inheritance. This has led her to clash with Islamists who have promised 'blood on the streets' if women are given such rights. She has been one of the few political leaders in Bahrain to challenge Islamists directly, saying that they are not respecting women's rights and instead of engaging in debating are personalising confrontations http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/1yr_arc_Articles.asp?Article=125278&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=28220&date=10-26-2005. However, she has been careful to keep debate on the proposed law within religious terms, telling the Gulf News: "I was the first Bahraini women and lawyer to realise that in the seventies there was a difference between religious rulings and what is being implemented."http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Kuwait/10025508.html
She has been key in drawing up the Supreme Council's strategy to assist female candidates contest 2006's election. Since 2002 women have had the right to vote and contest parliamentary and local elections, and Ms Al Awardhi has urged women to fully utilise their rights: "Women must be able to identify all relevant provisions in the Constitution and the means to exercise their political rights."http://www.bahrainembassy.org/democracy-04.htm
Ms Al Awadhi's background is in Law, and along with Haya Rashed Al Khalifa
Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa
Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa is a lawyer and diplomat from Bahrain who was the President of the 61st session of the United Nations General Assembly which began on September 12, 2006, and closed on September 17, 2007...
(who subsequently went on to become the President of the United Nations General Assembly
President of the United Nations General Assembly
The President of the United Nations General Assembly is a position voted for by representatives in the United Nations General Assembly on a yearly basis.- Election :...
) she became one of the first two practising female lawyers in the 1970s.
See also
- Women's Political Rights in BahrainWomen's political rights in BahrainWomen’s political rights have been a cornerstone of the political reforms initiated by King Hamad with for the first time women being given the right to vote and stand as candidates in national elections after the constitution was amended in 2002...
- Politics of BahrainPolitics of BahrainPolitics of Bahrain takes place in a framework of a constitutional monarchy, with an executive appointed by the King of Bahrain, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and a bi-cameral legislature, with the Chamber of Deputies elected by universal suffrage, and the Shura Council appointed directly by the king...