Wayzata World Factbook 1996/The World Factbook - 1996 Edition - Wayzata Technology (3079) (1996).iso/pc/text/humanrts/bahrain.txu

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TITLE: BAHRAIN HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994
AUTHOR: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DATE: FEBRUARY 1995



Section 5  Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
           Disability, Language, or Social Status

     Women

Women encounter various forms of discrimination.  Islamic law,
or Shari'a, governs some of the social and legal rights of men
and women.  Specific rights vary according to the Shi'a or
Sunni interpretation of Islamic law.

While both Shi'a and Sunni women have the right to initiate a
divorce, religious courts may refuse the request.  Occasionally
Shi'a women seeking divorce must travel outside of Bahrain, as
the Ja'afari sect courts in Bahrain are said to lack a
religious scholar of sufficient rank to issue rulings in
controversial cases.  Women of either sect may own and inherit
property and may represent themselves in all public and legal
matters.  In the absence of a direct male heir, Shi'a women may
inherit all property; by contrast, Sunni women--in the absence
of a direct male heir--inherit only a portion, with the balance
divided among male relatives of the deceased.

In the event of divorce, the courts routinely grant Shi'a and
Sunni women custody of daughters under the age of 9 and sons
under age 7, although custody usually is awarded to the father
once the children reach those ages.  In all circumstances
except mental incapacitation, the father, regardless of
custody, retains the right to make certain legal decisions for
his children, such as guardianship of any property belonging to
the child until the child reaches legal age.  A non-Bahraini
woman automatically loses custody of her children if she
divorces their Bahraini father.

Women may obtain passports and travel abroad without the
permission of a male head of the household.  Women are free to
work outside the home, drive cars without escorts, and wear the
clothing of their choice.  Many women wear Western dress
outside the home.

Women constitute over 20 percent of the work force.  The
Government has encouraged the hiring of women, enacted special
laws to promote female entry into the work force, and is a
leading employer of women.  The Labor Law does not discriminate
against women; however, some women's groups complain about
informal discrimination in the workplace, including inequality
of wages and denial of opportunity for advancement.  Except for
a few exempted professions, such as nursing, women are
prohibited from working at night.  Generally, women work
outside the home during the years between secondary school or
university and marriage.  Women make up the majority of
students at universities.  There are women's organizations
which seek to improve the status of women under both civil and
Islamic law.

Increasingly, women have expressed the view that, despite
growing female participation in the work force, women are not
significantly advancing their rights and that much of their
lack of progress is due to the influence of Islamic religious
traditionalists, especially in the government-run school system
and in the Shari'a courts.  Other women, however, desire a
return to more traditional religious values and support calls
for a return to Islamic patterns of social behavior.

Violence against women is known to occur, but knowledge of
incidents is usually kept within the family.  There is
virtually no public discussion of the issue.  No government
policies explicitly address violence against women.  Women's
groups and health care professionals state that spouse abuse is
relatively common.  There are very few known instances of
Bahraini women seeking legal redress for violence, and
anecdotal evidence suggests that the courts are not receptive
to such cases.

Foreign women working as domestic servants sometimes report
assault and sexual abuse to local embassies and the police, but
most victims are too intimidated to sue their employers.  Those
who do sue appear to be received sympathetically in the courts.

     Children

The Government has often stated its commitment to the
protection of children's human rights and welfare within the
country's social and religious framework.  The Government
honors this commitment through enforcement of its civil and
criminal laws and an extensive social welfare network.

The status of children is shaped by tradition and religion to a
greater extent than by civil law.  Public discussion of child
abuse is rare, and the preference of the authorities has always
been to leave such matters within the purview of the family or
religious groups.  The authorities actively enforce the laws
against prostitution, including child prostitution and
procuring.  They deal harshly with violators.  In some cases,
the authorities reportedly return children arrested for
prostitution and other crimes to their families rather than
prosecute them, especially for first offenses.  The regular
courts hear juvenile cases.  Some legal experts have called on
the Government to establish a juvenile court, but other
citizens insist that the protection of children is a religious,
not a secular, function and oppose greater government
involvement.  Independent and quasi-governmental organizations
play an active part in protecting children by providing
counseling, legal assistance and advice, and, in some cases,
shelter and financial support to distressed children and
families.

     National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities

A group of 3,000 to 5,000 mostly Iranian-origin Shi'a, commonly
known as "bidoon" (those without), enjoy less than full
citizenship.  Many are second- or third-generation residents
whose ancestors emigrated from Iran.  Although they no longer
claim Iranian citizenship, the law does not grant them Bahraini
citizenship.  Without citizenship, they are officially unable
to buy land, start businesses, or obtain government loans,
although in practice many do.  The Government maintains that
many of those who claim to be "bidoon" are actually citizens of
Iran or other Gulf states who have voluntarily chosen not to
renew their foreign passports.

Those bidoon and Bahrainis who speak Farsi, rather than Arabic,
as their first language, also face significant social and
economic obstacles, including difficulty finding employment.

     Religious Minorities

Although there are notable exceptions, the Sunni Muslim
minority enjoys a favored status in Bahrain in comparison with
the Shi'a Muslim majority.  Sunnis generally receive preference
for employment in sensitive government positions and in the
managerial ranks of the civil service.

Shi'as are not allowed to hold significant posts in the defense
and internal security forces.  However, they occupy most of the
senior positions in the major government-owned industries and
are disproportionately represented in the educational sphere as
secondary school teachers, professors, and university
administrators.  In general, lower paid workers in the private
sector tend to be Shi'a because of the larger proportion in
that group--and the much larger absolute number--who are poorly
educated.  Social and municipal services in most Shi'a
neighborhoods, particularly in rural villages, are inferior to
those in Sunni urban communities.  In an effort to remedy
social discrimination, improve living conditions for the Shi'a,
and encourage integration, the Government has built numerous
subsidized housing complexes open to all citizens on the basis
of financial need.

     People with Disabilities

The law protects the rights of people with disabilities, and a
variety of governmental, quasi-governmental, and religious
institutions are mandated to support and protect disabled
persons.  The Regional (Arabian Gulf) Center for the Treatment
of the Blind is headquartered in Bahrain, and a similar center
for the education of deaf children was established in 1994.

Society tends to view people with disabilities as special cases
in need of protection rather than as fully functioning members
of society.  Nonetheless, the law requires the Government to
provide vocational training for disabled persons wishing to
work.  The Labor Law of 1976 also requires that any employer
employing over 100 employees engage at least 2 percent of its
employees from the Government's list of disabled workers.  The
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs works actively to place
people with disabilities in public sector jobs, such as in the
public telephone exchanges.  The Government's housing
regulations require that access be provided to disabled
persons.  Most large public buildings (including the Ministries
of Foreign Affairs and Defense, the University, and schools)
are equipped with ramps and other aids which make them
accessible to disabled persons.

Section 6  Worker Rights

     a.  The Right of Association

The Constitution recognizes the right of workers to organize,
but trade unions do not exist, and the Government does not
encourage their establishment.  However, labor regulations
allow the formation of elected workers' committees in the
larger Bahraini companies.  Worker representation is based on a
system of Joint Labor-Management Consultative Councils (JCC's)
established by ministerial decree.  In 1994 four new JCC's were
established in the private sector, including one in a major
hotel.  Twelve preexisting JCC's cover the major state-owned
industries.  The JCC's are composed of equal numbers of
appointed management representatives and worker representatives
elected from and by company employees.

The elected labor representatives of the JCC's select the 11
members of the General Committee of Bahraini Workers (GCBW),
established in 1983 by law, which oversees and coordinates the
work of the JCC's.  The Committee also hears complaints from
Bahraini and foreign workers and assists them in bringing their
complaints to the attention of the Ministry of Labor or the
courts.  The JCC-GCBW system represents close to 70 percent of
the island's indigenous industrial workers, although both
government and labor representatives readily admit that
nonindustrial workers and expatriates are underrepresented by
the system.  Expatriate workers, who comprise 67 percent of the
work force, may participate in JCC elections.  No expatriate
worker, however, currently sits on the board of the GCBW.

The Labor Law neither prohibits nor guarantees the right to
strike.  The 1974 Security Law forbids strikes that are
perceived to be detrimental to the "existing relationship"
between employers and employees or to the economic health of
the state.  No major strikes took place in 1994, but
small-scale walkouts and other job actions have occurred, often
with favorable results for the workers.

The GCBW represents workers at the International Labor
Organization and in the Arab Labor Organization, but does not
belong to any international trade union organizations.  A
Bahraini Ministry of Labor official currently chairs the
governing body of the Arab Labor Organization.

     b.  The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

As in the case of strikes, the Labor Law neither prohibits nor
guarantees the right to organize and bargain collectively.  The
GCBW represents workers' interests in tripartite negotiations
with management and government representatives.  While the
JCC's are empowered to discuss labor disputes, organize
workers' services, and discuss wages, working conditions, and
productivity, the workers have no independent, recognized
vehicle to represent their interests in these or other labor
issues.  JCC's make suggestions to management on some working
conditions and limited aspects of wage issues, but management
must agree before a proposal can be put in force.

Minimum wage rates are established by Council of Ministers'
decree.  Increases in wages above the minimum, which are
subject to discussion in the JCC's, are set by management, with
government salaries for comparable work often serving as an
informal guide.  Private businesses generally follow the
Government-JCC lead in establishing their wage rates.

There are two export processing zones, but labor law and
practice are the same in these zones as in the rest of the
country.

     c.  Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

Forced or compulsory labor is legally prohibited, and the Labor
Ministry is charged with enforcing the law.  The Ministry
enforces the labor laws with periodic inspections and routinely
fines violators.  New provisions to the Labor Law passed in
November 1993 stiffened the maximum fines and mandated
imprisonment for certain violations.  The press often performs
an ombudsman function on labor problems, reporting instances in
which private sector employers compelled foreign workers from
developing nations to perform work not specified in their
contracts and other abuses, as well as Ministry of Labor
responses.  The press regularly reports the results of labor
cases brought before the courts.  In September Bahraini courts
awarded three Filipino domestic workers back pay and damages in
cases against their employers.

Once a complaint has been lodged by a worker, the Labor
Ministry opens an investigation and often takes remedial
action.  Although the Ministry takes such cases seriously,
abuses undoubtedly go unreported, particularly those involving
domestic workers and others working illegally in Bahrain.  The
Labor Law stipulates that any Bahraini found guilty of
illegally sponsoring foreign workers may be sentenced to 6
months in prison for each worker.  However, the Government's
efforts to deport illegally sponsored workers make these
domestic workers reluctant to bring cases of abuse to the
courts.  The intense fear of deportation almost certainly
allows some sponsoring employers to impose abusive conditions,
which approach coerced or bonded labor, on their employees.

     d.  Minimum Age for Employment of Children

The minimum legal age for employment is 14.  Juveniles between
the age of 14 and 16 may not be employed in hazardous
conditions or at night and may not work over 6 hours per day or
on a piecework basis.  Ministry of Labor inspectors effectively
enforce child labor laws in the industrial sector; child labor
outside that sector is less well monitored but is not believed
to be significant outside family-operated businesses.

     e.  Acceptable Conditions of Work

Minimum wage scales, set by government decree, exist for public
sector employees and generally afford a decent standard of
living for workers and their families.  The current minimum
wage for the public sector is $237 (91 dinars) a month.  Wages
in the private sector are determined on a contract basis.  For
foreign workers, employers consider benefits such as paid
annual trips home and housing and education bonuses part of the
salary.

The Labor Law, enforced by the Ministry of Labor and Social
Affairs, mandates acceptable conditions of work for all adult
workers, including adequate standards regarding hours of work
(maximum 48 hours per week) and occupational safety and
health.  Complaints brought before the Ministry of Labor and
Social Affairs that cannot be settled through arbitration must,
by law, be referred to the labor court within 15 days.  In
practice, most employers prefer to settle such disputes through
arbitration, particularly since the court and Labor Law are
generally considered to favor the employee, and the rulings in
such cases are often published in the local press.  Under the
Labor Law, workers have the right to remove themselves from
dangerous work situations without jeopardy to their employment.

The Labor Law stipulates significant fines and jail sentences
for private sector employers who fail to pay legal wages.  This
law applies equally to employers of Bahrainis and expatriates
and is intended to reduce abuses against foreign workers who in
the past have sometimes been denied legal salaries.  The law
provides equal protection to Bahraini and foreign workers, but
all foreign workers still require sponsorship by Bahrainis or
Bahrain-based institutions and companies.  Subject to sanctions
for wrongful dismissal, sponsors are able to cancel the
residence permit of any person under their sponsorship and
thereby block them from obtaining entry or residence visas from
another sponsor.

The local press has reported instances of foreign workers
denied full wages, days off, vacations, or other guaranteed
conditions of employment, as well as the court rulings or
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs actions taken in
response.  Nonetheless, government attempts to address
individual abuses in these and other cases are often hampered
by the workers' unwillingness to make formal complaints.

The Labor Law favors Bahrainis and Arab expatriates over other
foreign workers in hiring and firing.  Because employers
include housing and other allowances in their salary scales,
expatriate workers legally may be paid lower wages than their
Bahraini counterparts, although they sometimes receive the same
or greater total compensation because of home leave and holiday
pay allowances.  Women are entitled to 60 days of paid
maternity leave, nursing periods during the day, and up to 1
year of unpaid maternity leave.  However women are generally
paid less than men.