Bahrain: Women who contest national elections in 2018 will benefit from newly prepared campaign training.
The Supreme Council for Women (SCW) is working with the Bahrain Institute for Political Development (BIPD) on a programme for parliament and municipal council
candidates.
SCW secretary general Hala Al Ansari said candidates would not be hand-picked, but those who nominated themselves could enrol in the scheme.
“We don’t want women to enter parliament and municipal elections without calculating their chances and the probability of them winning,” she said.
“It is not about just entering, it is more about competing and having a chance to win a seat.
“The SCW is co-operating with BIPD to draw up blueprints and we are expecting them to be finalised within the upcoming months and ready for the go-ahead a year from now.
“We want to provide women who run for election everything they need to stand out as possible contenders.
“We don’t hand-pick candidates or favour anyone, all women are welcome if they feel we can support them.
“At the moment we are shouldering most of the work related to preparing women for national elections, but years from now, BIPD will be doing all of it – as we just present it with ideas and it tailors the training.
“That should be their role more than ours.”
Ms Al Ansari was speaking on the sidelines of the Government Forum 2016 yesterday at the Isa Cultural Centre.
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