Bahrain: Democracy and Tolerance in the Gulf region

Thursday 21. January 18:00 - 19:00
Location: DGAP, Berlin

 

The legal equality of men and women, free school- and health systems as well as constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech, press and religion are major reasons for Bahrain’s position as a forerunner in the Arab world. The insular state, located near the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia, has undergone a far-reaching process of political, societal and economic liberalisation during the last years. In this context, especially the increasing democratisation, the continuing success of the Bahraini economy and growing religious tolerance within the society ought to be mentioned. These were the main statements made by Alice Thomas Samaan, vice president of the Bahraini parliament, during her speech in the DGAP on the 21st of January.

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Ms. Samaan explained that the comparably liberal constitution of the country has served as the basis for the positive developments of the last years. In this context, she especially mentioned the introduction of a two-chamber parliament and the rule of law as well as the build-up of a welfare system. Apparently, this has led to an improvement of the situation of the Bahraini women. According to Ms. Samaan, today one can find female cabinet ministers, ambassadors and chief executive officers of important companies. She furthermore emphasized that compared to other Arab states, religious tolerance is very high in Bahrain. To support this statement, Ms. Samaan mentioned the existence of churches, Hindu temples and of a synagogue in Bahrain.

In addition, Ms. Samaan said that the prospering economy should be regarded as the result of the country’s modern infrastructure and liberal economic policy. Besides the oil industry, especially the regionally leading financial sector and close economic links with the United States and Saudi Arabia were named by Ms. Samaan as core pillars of the Bahraini economy.