SCW hail anti-domestic violence law

Manama

His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s ratification and issuance of the law on protection from domestic violence has been valued highly by The Supreme Council for Women (SCW).

The council highlighted the importance of the law in achieving more stability to the Bahraini family, on the one hand, and enhancing the kingdom’s family-oriented legislation and placing it among advanced countries in this regard, on the other.

The SCW lauded HM the King’s efforts to protect the rights of the Bahraini family through implementing the principles embedded in the Constitution which stipulates the State’s role to guarantee "reconciling the duties of women towards the family with their work in society, and their equality with men in political, social, cultural, and economic spheres without breaching the provisions of Islamic canon law (Shari'a).

The issuance of the law will reduce domestic violence cases, maintain the Bahraini family’s integrity and entity, provide legal protection for categories subject to violence and ensure the impunity of violators, the SCW said.

The council affirmed that it would launch the "National Strategy for the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence", prepared in cooperation with a national team comprising representatives from all the relevant official and civil society sides, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, next November, adding that the strategy will be one of the executive tools for the implementation of this important law.

The SCW called for concerted efforts by the relevant sides to take similar steps, such as the issuance of the second part of the Family Provisions Law, the establishment of family courts and protection of the Bahraini Family’s specific features.

It is to be noted that "family stability" is one of the goals of the National Plan for the Advancement of the Bahraini Women aiming to protect Bahraini women from all forms of domestic violence through a number of plans and programmes.