A successful lawyer. The first is Haya Rashed al-Khalifa, the most famous lawyer in Bahrain, who tomorrow will be nominated President of the General Assembly of the United Nations, in New York. She is the third woman called upon to take up this role since the founding of the UN, but the first Muslim to be nominated. Haya has never been a woman like others, having been in the spotlight for some time already in Bahrain, where she became the country’s foremost female lawyer, for her battles for civil rights for women in a strongly misogynist society. She has always lived in Manama, having finished her studies in Kuwait and Egypt, differently from many of her fellow countrywomen, who prefer to live abroad so that they may achieve their goals. The owner of the biggest law firm in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, she became the principal legal consultant to the monarchy in power, with which she is related. She has never married and her company avails of a very classy internet site, where all the males are her subordinates. Her role in the United Nations will be more representative than practical, but it will not be an easy task to manage the 191 representative diplomats of the states who have a seat in the UN. In this sense Haya will be helped by her experience as ambassador, a role she has covered for her country in France, Spain, Switzerland and Belgium.

 

A strict judge. Among the places where Haya Rashed al-Khalifa has campaigned for the respect of women’s rights in Bahrain are the regional Islamic Courts, where the Sharia, Islamic law, is applied. Haya has always done her utmost to see that as many cases as possible, in particular those relating to family rights, were brought before a civil court. Her new position will prevent her from, sooner or later, being opposed to a woman like herself, Mona Jasem Al Kawari, who just today became the first woman judge nominated in an Islamic Court in the history of Bahrain. “This is a historic step which, I hope, may open doors for many women like me who, in the most important professions, have always had to step aside and make room for the men”, the newly elected judge commented. The emir of Bahrain, in 2002, had nominated 3 women to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, but the judge’s bench is much more important than the public prosecutor’s.

All the newspapers in Bahrain are speaking about Haya and Mona, who spend their interviews incensing the policies of the emir on the opening of society towards women. But there are many problems in Bahrain, and not just for women. In particular, respect of human and civil rights is still a mirage in the Gulf monarchy and infringement is the order of the day. On the day we celebrate the successes of the women in Bahrain, it is also worth remembering Ghada Jamsheer, decorated for her dedication to the struggle against the brutality perpetrated by the government of Bahrain. Ghada was nominated ‘person of the year’ for everything she has done in the five years since a judge, applying the Sharia harshly, deprived her of the possibility of seeing her son after her divorce. Since that day Ghada has fought against a misogynist and intolerant system, obtaining several results for women’s rights and other matters with her reports. On 7 June, with the successes of Haya and Mona, we should also celebrate Ghada.