MEDIA bias may be blamed for the lack of women holding elected positions in Bahrain, a visiting US politician said yesterday. Vice-chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Orange County, California, Rima Nashashibi, said discrimination in news coverage between male and female candidates has been the consistent message delivered during her trip.
The Palestinian-born politician is here as part of a 10-day educational visit to Bahrain and Qatar to promote awareness of increased political participation and the positive role of Arab women in America.
Ms Nashashibi met officials from the Supreme Council for Women, Shura Council, Royal University for Women, Cultural Dialogue Centre and Bahrain Youth Forum Society and will visit Bahrain University before returning home today.
"We need to see more media support for women candidates and make sure the media gives equal coverage to all candidates, no matter what their gender, background or religion is," she told a Press conference at the Sheraton Hotel.
"I believe the media can do more to educate people about the issue and support candidates.
"When someone goes to vote, they do so from an educated position and they are not doing so in a vacuum."
Ms Nashashibi believes introducing a quota for women candidates in elections could be one way of achieving equality, at least in the short-term.
"They are good because they give women the opportunity to show they can handle the position and they are just as qualified as men," she said.
"Once you have people on an equal footing, you can take the quotas out."
Ms Nashashibi also has no problem with positive discrimination being used to appoint females to cabinet positions.
"How can you trust women to bring up future generations but not to hold certain positions," she asked.
"But if you appoint someone that is not qualified, they are destined to fail and you are doing a disservice to them and the community."
Ms Nashashibi revealed that the number of American women holding political positions compares to the global average of 17 per cent.
The co-founder of the Arab American Caucus and American Businesswomen's Association admitted her surprise at the low rate.
But she said one lesson women candidates in Bahrain can learn from their US counterparts was the importance of running a good structured campaign.
"This includes having a campaign manager, media consultant, fun-draising advisor and a volunteer co-ordinator to lead a team of volunteers," she added.
By GEOFFREY BEW, Gulf Daily News
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