Title	Bahrain: Women and children subject to increasing abuse
Publisher	Amnesty International
Publication Date	16 July 1996
Country	Bahrain
Topics	Arbitrary arrest and detention | Children's rights | Children-at-risk | Death in custody | Exiles | Persecution based on political opinion | Persecution of family members | Pre-trial detention | Religious persecution (including forced conversion) | Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) | Women's rights | Women-at-risk
Citation / Document Symbol	MDE 11/018/1996
Reference	Amnesty International is a worldwide voluntary movement that works to prevent some of the gravest violations by governments of people's fundamental human rights. The main focus of its campaigning is to: free all prisoners of conscience people detained an
Cite as	Amnesty International, Bahrain: Women and children subject to increasing abuse, 16 July 1996, MDE 11/018/1996, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a98624.html [accessed 7 October 2022]
Comments	The Gulf State of Bahrain (population: approx. 600,000) has witnessed increasing political unrest and violence since the end of 1994. At least 22 people have been killed, some in conditions suggesting they were extrajudicially executed, and thousands of people have been arrested, including women and children. The unrest stemmed from calls, led by prominent members of the Shi'a community, for the restoration of parliament, dissolved in 1975, and of the Constitution, which was suspended the same year. In early 1996, violence escalated with bomb explosions in hotels, restaurants and outside a bank,leaving eight people dead and at least five wounded. Amnesty International does not question the government's responsibility to bring to justice those responsible for such acts of violence, but emphasizes that all those arrested should be treated in accordance with international human rights standards, which include protection from torture or ill-treatment. Since 1994, the Government of Bahrain has responded to the unrest with widespread arbitrary arrests, apparent extrajudicial killings, imprisonment of prisoners of conscience, torture and the death sentence, the first to be carried out in almost 20 years. The government has also continued a policy of forcible exile of its own nationals, sending whole families out of Bahrain, or banning their return ifsuspected of opposition political activity abroad. During the unrest, women joined in the 'pro-democracy' calls, taking to the streets to demand the release of political detainees and assuming an increasingly organized public role. Schoolchildren and high school female students also staged protest demonstrations, and security forces responded by arresting a number of women and children. The Government ofBahrain has consistently disregarded international standards safeguarding the vulnerabilities of women and children in the arrest procedures, investigation, detention and trial. After fresh demonstrations and disturbances broke out in November 1995, the ill-treatment of women and female high school students in detention reportedly increased. Although most have now been released, many were kept in solitary confinement and schoolgirls reportedly suffered cruel and degrading treatment. At the time of writing of this report, protest demonstrations continue, often escalating into violence. The government has introduced a law amending some articles in the Penal Code to refer all cases of arson and damage of public property to the State Security Court, which, unlike the Criminal Court does not allow for any right of appeal. Arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention of children continue. Amnesty International has received no new reports of the arrest or detention of women or female high school students since the release in early May 1996 of all those known to be held, but fears that some of those released may be subject to re-arrest and that the pattern of arbitrary arrest of women may continue.
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