A Step Forward in the Bahrain Campaign
Good news came down the wires today - The King of Bahrain has granted citizenship to over 372 children who have Bahraini mothers and non-Bahraini fathers.
gulfnews.com reported the story and quoted women’s rights activists hailing the decision “as a much-needed move to rectify a blatant social injustice against women and end the suffering and exclusion of many families.” (see full story: Children of foreign fathers get Bahraini citizenship)
We tried to reach Wajeeha Al-Baharna, President of the BWS - the Bahraini Women’s Society. BWS is coordinating the campaign in Bahrain and has had a lot of success stories in the recent past. See the Bahrain page on this blog for more evidence. After a couple of tries, we finally succeeded in having a discussion that put things in perspective for us.
Wajeeha called the news a step forward for the nationality campaign in Bahrain. BWS is planning to send a telex to the King tomorrow thanking him for this move. In the meantime, they are also requesting the King to solve the problem at the root.
There are many more women who are affected by the nationality law and are unable to grant their citizenship to their husbands and children. Just granting nationality to some would not solve the problem for all. Amending the nationality law will help ALL Bahraini women grant their nationality to their non-Bahraini husbands and children.
She ended with “We should keep on working and pursue our previous efforts in attempting to change the nationality law.”
So, a step forward for the Bahrain Campaign, a momentary pause for some good news, and then on with the campaign until the laws are amended to include everyone.
Entry Filed under: Countries, Bahrain, Activities, In the News