Fawzia Zainal

Fawzia Abdulla Yusuf Zainal (born 1961[1]) is a Bahraini media and social activist and politician who has been Speaker of the Council of Representatives since 12 December 2018 to 12 December 2022. Zainal is the first woman to lead Bahrain's parliament, and the second woman to lead a Gulf-Arab parliament after UAE's Amal Al Qubaisi.[2]

Her Excellency
Fawzia Abdulla Yusuf Zainal
Zainal in 2021
Speaker of the Council of Representatives of Bahrain
In office
12 December 2018 – 12 December 2022
MonarchHamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
Preceded byAhmed Al Mulla
Succeeded byAhmed bin Salman Al-Musallam
Personal details
Born1961

Education

Zainal graduated with a degree in education and Arabic from the University of Bahrain in 1983[3] and has a Postgraduate Diploma in Counseling from the University of Jordan.[4] She received a high diploma from the Bahrain Institution of Political Development in 2008 and a diploma from Bahrain University in 2014.[3]

Career

Zainal has worked as a journalist[5] and is a media and social activist.[6] She worked as a director in the Bahrain Radio and Television Corporation for twenty five years.[3][4] She is a member of the Bahrain Businesswomen's Society.[7] In 2009, she was a consultant for strategic planning and development at the Bahrain Ministry of Culture and Information.[8]

Zainal first ran for parliament in 2006, despite threats against female candidates. Her campaign tent was set on fire and she was targeted by derogatory gossip.[9] In 2014, she ran for the East Riffa fifth district, but fell short by 288 votes in a run-off election against her male opponent.[2] Her campaign platform promised to focus on improving the living conditions of women, as well as addressing unemployment and fighting corruption.[10]

Zainal was elected in December 2018 alongside five other women, winning her seat outright against the incumbent, Khalifa al-Ghanim, who had narrowly defeated her in 2014.[2][11][10] She had criticised the previous parliament and promised to prioritise the needs of the less fortunate in her constituency.[10] Bahrain does not have a quota for female representatives but while gender was seen as less of an issue in 2018,[12] billboards of Zanial were torn up and defaced and other candidates reported receiving online threats.[13][14][15] Zainal said, "My victory has broken the rule of male domination of this district and indicates that the people of the area have reached the conviction and maturity that make them not look at candidate’s gender, but at their capabilities and ability to take responsibility."[11]

On 12 December 2018, Zainal was elected Speaker of the Council of Representatives with 25 of the 40 votes and then appointed by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.[2] He said, "The election of the first woman speaker of the Council of Representatives represents a quantum leap forward and source of pride for the Kingdom of Bahrain which has spared no effort to empower women."[5]

Personal life

Zainal is a Sunni Muslim. She has one married son.

References
  1. "Bahrain". Parline: the IPU’s Open Data Platform. 5 July 2018.
  2. Naar, Ismaeel (13 December 2018). "Fawzia Zainal elected first woman Speaker of Bahraini parliament". Al Arabiya. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  3. "Fawzia Zainal … Meet the most important woman in Manama". Navva.org.
  4. "Board of Trustees". Ahlia School.
  5. "Fawzia Zainal elected first woman Speaker of Bahraini parliament". alarabiya. 12 November 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  6. ""Let's translate the battle order into action" Thus, Bahrain Fawzia Zainal, the news of her victory in the presidency of the Bahrain House of Representatives, was on the throne of the first Bahrain woman wins this high position through free and direct elections". vaaju.com. 13 December 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  7. "Fawzia Zainal". Bahrain Businesswomen's Society. Archived from the original on 2019-10-01. Retrieved 2018-12-26.
  8. Nacelewicz, Tess (13 October 2009). "Bahraini women dispel stereotypes for students in Cape Elizabeth". Keep Me Current. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  9. Olimat, Muhamad (2013). Arab Spring and Arab Women. Routledge. p. 51. ISBN 9781317937388.
  10. "Southern Governorate - Definitive guide to Bahrain's 2018 parliamentary elections". Citizens for Bahrain. 6 December 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  11. Naar, Ismaeel (2 December 2018). "Breaking the glass ceiling: Record number of women elected to Bahrain parliament". Al Arabiya. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  12. Toumi, Habib (21 November 2018). "Will the 'Pink Wave' mark Bahrain's 2018 elections?". Gulf News. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  13. Naar, Ismaeel (19 November 2018). "Record number of women contest in Bahrain's local elections". Al Arabiya. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  14. Toumi, Habib (13 December 2018). "In first, Bahrain parliament to be headed by woman". Gulf News. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  15. Singh Grewal, Sandeep (7 November 2018). "Bahrain elections: More billboards are vandalised". GDN online. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
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