In Bahrain, women face unprecedented levels of domestic violence, spanning across all socioeconomic levels. In 2021, the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care conducted a survey including 800 women, of diverse ethnic, social and religious backgrounds, investigating the levels of domestic violence experienced amongst Bahraini women. They concluded that 71.7% of women suffer from physical, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse within their marriage. The rate of domestic violence in Bahrain was one of the highest of all their studies, across the globe, with most nations averaging a rate of 15%.
Domestic violence is accepted, and even expected, in Bahraini society due to the lack of rights granted to women before the law. Despite the 2002 constitution defining women to be equal to men, there are minimal laws enforcing this constitutional right in practice. While gender equality is written into the constitution, it is on the condition that it cannot breach Bahrain’s interpretation of Islamic law, which causes complications in producing a society truly rid of gender inequality, due to Bahrain using Sharia law as a façade to oppress women. Sharia law itself does not forbid the rights of women, as can be seen in the United Arab Emirates’ attempt to use a more progressive interpretation of Sharia Law to grant protection and rights to women, especially in its family law. Gender discrimination is not explicitly prohibited in the constitution and as Bahrain interprets Islamic law as necessitating women to fulfil a more traditional and conservative role in society and the family, the rhetoric of women being inferior to men becomes reproduced in societal norms, leading to gender-based violence.
Since joining the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Bahrain has implemented ‘protection orders’ into Bahraini law. If a domestic violence case is reported to the police, the victim may be put into an official shelter for a maximum of one month, which the perpetrator is prohibited to visit, but may file a grievance report, requesting the cancellation of the protection. If the perpetrator is found guilty of domestic violence, he may receive a few days in prison and a fine. However this outcome is unlikely, as the law views women’s testimonies to be worth half a man’s testimony, making it difficult for women to achieve justice. Once the granted stay in the protection shelter has been completed, the victim must return to the family house, to continue living with the perpetrator, as women do not have the right to live outside of their marriage house under Bahraini law.
While presenting a facade of progressive gender equality through unenforced legislation and joining CEDAW, ECDHR confirms that systemic gender discrimination persists in Bahrain, as the law forces women to exist in vulnerable positions within society and even their own home.
Despite being a member of CEDAW since 2002, Bahrain waives the responsibility of implementing clauses it claims to be incompatible with its interpretation of Islamic law. This reservation to the convention can be manipulated by Bahrain to avoid enforcing any CEDAW clause they disagree with into Bahraini law, nullifying the purpose of Bahrain’s accession. For example, marital rape is not considered a crime under Bahraini law, and the legal age for girls to marry is still 16, or younger if the family court provides approval. It is impossible to eradicate domestic violence in Bahrain if marital rape is not criminalized and the legal age to marry is not increased. Marrying at such a young age increases the chances of girls to find themselves in an abusive marriage, with little knowledge nor support to seek help.
CEDAW’s latest report on the situation in Bahrain recommended to criminalize martial rape, raise the legal marriage age, repeal discriminatory provisions in Bahrain’s Family Law, actively implement educational campaigns in order to dismantle deep-rooted patriarchy in Bahraini society and to definitively withdraw all its reservations on the Convention.
Everyday women face constant threats and danger to their physical safety in their own home. The official figures are too high, and unfortunately are unlikely to be anywhere near the true statistics, due to so many cases going unreported because of the minimal protection women receive before the law. It is imperative that Bahrain views this as a serious issue and implements real, positive change to better protect its women and change the patriarchal mindset founded in Bahraini society.