specificity of some provisions of the Family Law is in line with the right to
religious freedom.
6.3
Recommendations:
a. Pursue the creation of a periodic follow-up plan with regard to the
gradual implementation of raising the age of marriage for both sexes
as stipulated in Law No. (19) of 2017 promulgating the Family Law to
the age of eighteen years.
b. Call for assigning scientific staff specialized in the field of psychology,
sociology, and those experts on women’s issues within the Family
Reconciliation Office, and leverage the family counseling offices
located in social centers and distributed in the governorates of the
Kingdom to provide family reconciliation services.
7
The National Institution for Human Rights
7.1
On the request of the Supreme Council for Women, the NIHR submitted its
response regarding paragraphs (47) and (48) of the concluding observations
of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW)14. In addition, the NIHR sent a brief report on the advancement
made and NIHR’s efforts and activities in promoting and protecting women’s
rights15, including the answer to item No. (5) titled “The National Institution for
Human Rights” on the list of issues and questions of CEDAW’s Committee. In
November 2022, the NIHR submitted a report to the Supreme Council for
Women, which includes updated information on the above.16
7.2
In the First Section of the abovementioned report, entitled (The role of the
National Institution for Human Rights in the field of promoting and protecting
women’s rights), the NIHR presented statistics on its efforts in the field of
promoting and protecting women’s rights for the years (2016-2022), including
14
The response of the National Institution for Human Rights at the request of the Supreme Council
for Women regarding some of the concluding observations issued by the Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which are contained in document No.
(CEDAW/C/BHR/CO/3) on the third periodic report of the Kingdom of Bahrain regarding the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, is attached.
15
The response of the National Institution for Human Rights at the request of the Supreme Council
for Women regarding the questions raised by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women (CEDAW) and contained in the list of issues and questions, under the title
(Summary Report on: Progress, Efforts and Activities of the National Institution for Human Rights
in the field of promoting and protecting women's rights in the Kingdom of Bahrain), is attached.
16
The response of the National Institution for Human Rights at the request of the Supreme Council
for Women regarding the questions raised by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women (CEDAW) contained in the list of issues and questions, and the response of the
Kingdom of Bahrain to the list of questions and observations on its fourth periodic report under
the title (Updated information on the NIHR’s efforts and activities in the field of promoting and
protecting women's rights), is attached.
15