Mohammed Hassan Jawad and the Unseen in Bahrain

In 2015, Chinese artist Ai Weiwei used Legos to create portraits of 176 political activists from around the world. Some of the names and faces of political exiles and prisoners of conscience were recognizable, such as Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi, Edward Snowden, and Chelsea Manning. Included were some lesser known names around the[…]

Backtracking on Women’s Rights: Discriminatory Citizenship Law in Bahrain

Although Bahraini authorities often boast about empowering women, the government has not taken any serious steps to change the laws that prohibit Bahraini women from passing on citizenship to their families. Even though Bahrain has acceded to the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) since 2002, women in Bahrain do[…]

Kuwait Raises Free Speech Restrictions to Parliamentary Level

The public prosecution in Kuwait recently issued a directive to all exit borders for the arrest of Kuwaiti Member of Parliament (MP) Abdul Hamid Dashti upon his attempted return to the country. Dashti is still abroad and said that such a measure is unprecedented, claiming it will be a “disaster for civil liberties in Kuwait.”[…]

Human Rights Go Missing During Secretary Kerry’s Visit to Bahrain

On 7 April, US Secretary of State John Kerry met with the Foreign Ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) while on his three-day trip to Bahrain. During his meeting with the GCC Foreign Ministers, they discussed regional security concerns mainly in Syria, Iran, Yemen, and Daésh.  An equally important issue in the region, human[…]

Qatar: Combating Terror or Abusing Human Rights?

Despite claims of supporting counter-terrorism policies, Qatar continues to abuse the human rights of citizens and non-citizens in the name of fighting terrorism, security and economic stability. On April 4, during a meeting in Washington D.C. with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed al-Thani said that their approach of combating[…]