MANAMA, 22 April 2004 — Bahrain appointed a woman as a government minister for the first time yesterday, putting her in charge of the Health Ministry.
Nada Abbas Haffadh, a physician, replaced Khalil ibn Ibrahim Hassan, whose performance had been criticized in Parliament and local newspapers.
“We might be a little late having a woman as minister but I am excited to hold the post,” Haffadh said.
“My main goal is to return calm to the ministry and increase productivity,” she said. “There were some misunderstandings between the previous minister and his staff. Now we should put it all behind us and move forward.”
Haffadh, 46, is also a member of the upper house of Parliament, Shoura Council, whose members are appointed by the king. It oversees legislation passed by the elected lower house.
The elected Parliament has no female members, although some women ran in the last election in 2002.
Bahrain, the Gulf’s banking hub and home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, has a woman ambassador posted in France.
The United States has called for political reforms in the Arab world after the removal of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in a US-led invasion last year.
Oman named its first woman minister last month and nearby Qatar appointed the first female minister in the region in 2003.
