obtained membership in municipal councils. 3.4 With respect to the parliamentary elections of 2022, (8) women were able to obtain seats in the Council of Representatives, and (3) women succeeded in obtaining membership in the municipal elections. 3.5 With regard to participation in public life6, the NIHR has followed up on the Civil Service Bureau’s decisions and decrees which mandated the creation of standing equal opportunity committees in all ministries and official bodies, provided that the grade of the chairperson of the committee is not less than the grade of an assistant undersecretary and that the members of the committee represent the main operations sectors of the agency at the level of a department manager. According to statistics obtained from the Supreme Council for Women, the number of equal opportunity committees in the public sector has reached (44) committees until the end of 2018. Moreover, the General Secretariat of both the Shura Council and the Council of Representatives have formed similar equal opportunity committees in 2011 and 2012, respectively. 3.6 Recommendations: Provide support to equal opportunity committees to achieve full integration of women's needs, and publish periodic reports on the efforts of the committees and the challenges they encounter. 4 Female worker and expatriate and domestic workers 4.1 The Labor Law in the Private Sector promulgated by Law No. (36) of 2012 and the ministerial resolutions issued in implementation thereof includes numerous benefits and rights that created a legal framework aimed at protecting women in a manner consistent with the relevant International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions. 4.2 Decree-Law No. (59) of 2018 was issued amending some provisions of the Labor Law in the Private Sector. An explicit provision was laid down to the effect that it is prohibited to discriminate between workers subject to the provisions of this law on the basis of gender, ethnic origin, language, religion or creed. Another provision was added that imposes the punishment of a prison sentence not exceeding one year or a fine not exceeding one hundred Bahraini Dinars on any worker who, during work or as a result of it, sexually harasses any of the co-workers, whether physically, verbally, by sign or any other means; and punishes any employer or his representative who commits 6 The Fifth Annual Report of the National Institution for Human Rights for the year 2017, and the Sixth Annual Report of the National Institution for Human Rights for the year 2018, are published on the NIHR’s website: Annual Reports Section: www.nihr.org.bh 10