News in Brief

• A number of activists in women’s societies demanded the implementation of the quota electoral system in order to facilitate women’s access to Parliament in the next election. However, some female MPs rejected this saying that the system contains a constitutional violation.
• The President of Bahrain Human Rights Society, Dr. Abdullah Al Drazi, said that the Society will begin its preparations for the upcoming elections in 2010, pointing to the formation of a joint committee with Bahrain Transparency Society.
• On 18 August 2009, the relatives of the detainee in Saudi Arabia, Abdualraheem Al- Murbaty, staged a protest opposite the Saudi Embassy in Manama. The Government said that the protest is illegal, while the protestors claimed that their number did not exceed 5 individuals, and hence, the matter did not require permission from the authority.
• On 26 August 2009, t Bahraini Minister of Foreign Affairs met the President of Bahrain Transparency Society and praised the Society’s activities. He also stressed the importance of communicating and coordinating with it in order to promote democracy in Bahrain.
• Bahraini Government has rejected a proposal by Parliament to increase financial help to the disabled, and said that the current social security law is adequate to fulfill the need of this particular social group, adding that supporting the disabled is not limited to providing financial support.
• A researcher in the Attagdeed Cultural Society (Cultural Renewal Society), Ms. Rabiha Alzeera, as well as twenty other women, participated last August in a periodic meeting in Malaysia to discuss human rights. The meeting was entitled ‘Understanding Islam from a Human Rights Prospective’. The conference aimed to throw the light on justice and equality in the Muslim family.
• MP Abdulhussain Al- Motghawee, said that the Al- Wefaq block will propose a bill regarding justice for victims of torture. He also expressed his hope that the electoral constituencies will be amended.
• On 7 August 2009, tens of citizens participated in a peaceful protest demanding the release of some detainees arrested following the killing of a member of the police force during a violent riot. A different protest took place on 9 August 2009, when the families of some detainees from Al- Ma’ameer village, who were accused of killing an Asian worker, demanded their immediate release.
• An official report shows that the unemployment rate has reached 3.8% last July, and that the number of the unemployed has reached 5566 individuals.