Campaigning for women’s rights, Zahra Haram has announced her intention to participate in parliamentary elections this October. Maryam Yacoub tracked her down to find out more.

When Zahra Haram told her friends she planned to run in Bahrain’s upcoming parliamentary elections, she was quickly cautioned. “Most of the women who have run before failed; you’ll wear yourself out,” she said some told her.

“Then you don’t know me that well,” she recalls replying, laughingly. But in contesting the vote, Zahra and other female candidates will have to take on a slew of challenges that have thus far kept all but one woman from reaching the lower house of parliament.

Women activists say conservative social attitudes and strict religious interpretations by some — along with many women’s own political inexperience — stack the odds against them, deterring many from foraying into what still remains a male-dominated arena.

That, Zahra says, is one of the reasons she decided to join the race.“Unfortunately, many women still live in the shadow of men. You find well-educated women who still think politics is not a woman’s cup of tea,” she says.

“Women have to impose their presence today; otherwise, there will be no women in politics in 10 years.”

By July, only 11 women were expected to run in the parliamentary elections slated for October, according to a list of “confirmed” and “possible” candidates compiled by Bahrain2010, a website following electoral affairs. That compares to 143 men on the same list.

No female candidates won in Bahrain’s 2002 vote. In 2006, Lateefa al-Gaood — who ran uncontested — became the first elected woman in a parliamentary vote in the Kingdom. But, the 17 other women who vied for seats that year failed to secure any.

Speaking up, as women
Anisa Al-Ruwaie, vice president of the Bahraini Women’s Society, says that on Election Day many female voters are influenced by the men in their families.

“They tell us they can’t vote for a woman unless their husband approves it, or that women are not as capable as men,” she says. “They cite incorrect religious interpretations.”

Former independent candidate Aneesa Fakhro says stronger backing is needed in order for more women like her to compete and win. She contested the 2002 vote primarily to “cement women’s right to run.”

Aneesa, who heads the Ministry of Education’s Gifted Students Centre, is still undecided (at the time of going to press) as whether or not she would compete in this year’s vote. She said she announced through the press a year ago that she would run if organisations — governmental or non-governmental — offered her moral support and financial backing.
“If Bahraini society does not realise the importance of having women in parliament and of supporting them, then I’d be fighting a losing battle,” she says.

“No organisation, governmental or otherwise, has so far offered me any support.”

For and against a quota
Many activists say a quota system is needed for more women to reach parliament. “If the quota system is not adopted, then women will continue to stand still,” argues Aneesa Fakhro.

Opponents of a quota say it may place unqualified women in parliament, or make deserving ones look like they got there without merit.

Zahra is torn on the issue. “The realities on the ground make women demand a quota system because the society doesn’t treat them fairly,” she says. “But we then risk having women being seen as inferior.”

Dealing with taboos
At only 33, and a public relations and media manager at the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions, she is a first-time candidate.

Zahra was previously an employee with the general secretariat of the Shura Council, the upper house of parliament that counts 10 women among its 40 appointed members.

Having attended several workshops by governmental and non-governmental groups on topics such as how to form an elections team, campaign or use technology to reach potential voters, she has started to learn the ropes.

Online, she announced her candidacy on forums frequented by constituents in her district. In response, some congratulated her, quizzed her about her agenda and even sought her opinion as whether or not they should boycott the elections. No, she advised.

Others sounded skeptical. “We have many problems and it will be difficult for you to keep up. We have many protests in our villages...and I doubt that you can go out late at night to be in the middle of this,” wrote one participant. She told him the job entailed a lot more than being on the street during protests.

Zahra says a woman often has to tread carefully when campaigning; for instance, asking if it would be appropriate to join all-male gatherings to promote her election agenda, without causing offence. Despite the challenges, she is hopeful that Bahrainis have become more accepting of female candidates.

“In 2002, many frowned upon having women candidates, but then more women ran in 2006 and the society got better acquainted with the idea,” she says. “We have to open the door further.”