Repression of women in Bahrain under Sharia Law

by Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury
November 10, 2010

http://www.weeklyblitz.net/1083/repression-of-women-in-bahrain-under-sharia-law

Few weeks back, I received an email en messe from a Bahraini woman name Nawal, who brought specific allegations of serious repression by her own brother, who is a judge in country's Sharia court. Generally I do not entertain any mail which is sent en messe, but as the topic was important, I wrote her back asking more specific information and some clarifications. Subsequently, she got back to me with the required information and we spoke over phone for a number of times before writing this article.

Ms. Nawal's brother holds a position in country's Sharia court which gives the absolute right to the man in depriving his sisters from family's wealth as well use such influence in putting various forms of repressive tactics on the entire family. This judge even visibly grabbed family's property by using his position as the judge. Though the government of Bahrain has formed a special office to address the issues related to corruption inside country's judiciary and Sharia courts, such bodies are also seen inactive as in most cases, such special bodies are influences by the judges facing allegations.

In Nawal's case, her brother is using the influence of the entire judicial system in continuing his undisputed control over the family wealth thus even controlling country's media in not publishing pleas of the deceived people.

During the pagan Arab era, inheritance rights were confined exclusively to the male relatives. Later the same notion was incorporated in Koran [Surah An Nisah chapter 4 verses 11, 12 and 176], where women's rights in the inheritance had been totally robbed off and laid to the hands of men. Women in the Muslim society not only lost their rights over inherited properties but are regular victims of social humiliation, threat and various forms of intimidation tactics.

In her own words, Nawool said:

"My brother is a Judge for more then 20 years. I have been in the court of Kingdom of Bahrain since 1998 for family cases. The judge brother was Plaintiff in some of these cases, and the Defendant in others. I have witnessed a lot of corruptions in the court from my brother and his colleagues, where we lost all our rights.

"My brother [the judge] lodged a case against his father and his stepmother and his half sisters accusing them of forgery, fraud and embezzlement in order to have interdiction and prohibition over his father's wealth. He charged his father of "Dotage" being an old man. The undue influences in this case were as follows:-

01. The case was lodged during the court's holiday

02. A decision was taken by the court against the defendant without giving a hearing date and chance to defend.

"The court took quick decisions as follows:

01. To freeze the defendant bank accounts;

02. To freeze one of the daughters bank account [the plaintiff's sister] without evidence or investigations;

03. The father was accused of "Dotage" without a medical report;

"The Defendant [father, stepmother and sisters] appealed on 9^th February 2000 against the court verdict [case No. 15/99/5/3].

The results were as follows:

The Medical report was in favour of the father, however due my brother's [the Judge] influence, the court's termed my father as Dotage and to set all of his wealth and properties under the control of the Minor Fund Department subsidiary of the Ministry of Justice.

Even after pronouncement and publication of the court order, an additional point was added in it without the knowledge of the defendants or their lawyers, where the court assigned the plaintiff [the judge] to control family's Charity Fund worth millions of dollars. Since then, the judge is continuing his control over this fund and bribing people, including several judges from the Zakat [Islamic Charity] fund.

My brother [the judge], being in full control of the family's charity fund, pays for his own family's monthly expenses and also paying for his children's education fees and medical. In addition, he takes 8 per cent of the income as 'remuneration' for looking after the charity. He also financially compensates his colleagues, the judges of course, and the ministry of justice and its subsidiaries.

He also distributes cash, vouchers and gifts to the judges and Ministry of Justice employees and their friends and relatives under the heading of "Charity" where in fact it is "Bribes".

Although my brother [the judge] is in-charge of managing the charity fund, however, he obtained a written approval from the Judges in the Sharia Super Supreme court to protect himself from questioning of misusing the fund."

Ms. Nawal in an emotional voice told me that the entire society is engulfed by the nasty grips of Sharia Law and there are regular cases of domestic violence, including incest sexual assault by the male members in the society. Polygamy is also another issue of tremendous stress for the women.

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