International Women’s Day: Recognizing Activists in the GCC

Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) would like to commemorate International Women’s Day by highlighting the role of courageous women activists in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Samar Badawi Samar Badawi is a prominent Saudi human rights activist who is a recipient of the International Woman of Courage Award. Badawi has petitioned the government[…]

Laudatory comments on women’s empowerment fall short of reality

The chairman of Bahrain’s Institute for Political Development (BIPD) expressed Bahrain’s pride in the achievements of the Supreme Council for Women under the leadership of Princess Sabeeka al-Khalifa, the wife of Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. He “affirmed BIPD’s keen interest in women’s participation in all its programs,” and stated that women’s empowerment[…]

“It Is Our Right”: Saudi Women on the Positives, Pitfalls of Municipal Elections

In “‘It Is Our Right’: Saudi Women Speak on the Positives, Pitfalls of Municipal Elections,” Americans for Democracy & Human Rights & Bahrain (ADHRB) reviews December’s elections in Saudi Arabia through the eyes of a group of politically-active Saudi women. Excerpting from in-depth interviews conducted in the month before the elections, the briefing paper explores the[…]

Voices from the Ground: Saudi Women Speak on Elections

\إضغط هنا لنسخة عربية Tomorrow, on 12 December 2015, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will hold its third municipal council elections. In accordance with the 2011 declaration of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs (MOMRA) has officially permitted women to vote and run for seats across the kingdom’s[…]

At UN, ADHRB Draws Attention to Case of Imprisoned Saudi Princesses

18 September 2015 — Geneva, Switzerland — On behalf of Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain, Executive Director Husain Abdulla delivered remarks on the status of four Saudi women’s rights activists. These activists — Sahar Al Saud, Jawaher Al Saud, Maha Al Saud, and Hala Al Saud — are daughters of the late[…]