Forty-five associations and clubs in Bahrain, including a number of prominent expatriate community organisations and long-established local societies, have been dissolved after remaining inactive for more than five years in an unprecedented government decision.
The compulsory dissolution was approved under Social Development Ministry Decision No (57) of 2026, issued by Minister Osama Al Alawi and published in the latest edition of the Official Gazette.
The decision follows a memorandum from the ministry’s Department of Support for Civil Society Organisations, dated September 13, which found that the organisations listed had ceased operations for periods exceeding five years, in violation of the relevant law and their by-laws.
Among the organisations affected are several expatriate community and cultural bodies, including the Indian Society, Malaysian Club, Lebanese Club, Turkish Social and Cultural Association, Turkish Businessmen Association in the Middle East, Arab-Latin
American Friendship Association, and Bangladesh Samaj Society for Culture, Science, Literature and Arts.
The list also includes the Arab Youth Society, Bahraini Friends of Youth Society, Bahraini Society for the Protection of Youth, and the Gulf Society for Voluntary Work.
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