E/CN.4/2002/77/Add.2 page 28 extensively they were involved in the reforms. It also brought the matter up when it visited the women’s prison and the rehabilitation centre for girls, and at a meeting with women who had previously been detained under the emergency legislation. These very useful meetings revealed the kind of problems women encounter and how much progress has been made, and showed the resolve of the Bahraini authorities, which are a long way ahead of their neighbours in the advancement of women. 104. The first steps to promote the rights of Bahraini women date back to the beginning of the century: women received the right to vote in 1920, and their right to education was given tangible form in 1927 with the opening of the first school for girls. When the country held its first elections, in 1953, women took part. The women’s movement in Bahrain is the oldest in the entire Gulf region, and still, today, the most active. The 1973 Constitution affirmed the equal rights of all citizens: “Citizens shall have the right to participate in the public affairs of the State and enjoy political rights, beginning with the right to vote, in accordance with this Constitution and the conditions and procedures set forth in the law” (art. 1(e)). 105. Matters began to deteriorate in 1973: in passing the Elections Act, the first elected National Assembly challenged women’s right to vote on the grounds that the article 1 of the Constitution referred to male, not female, citizens. Women face discrimination in other areas of public life in violation of constitutional principles. Such discrimination is the result of the dichotomy in the legal systems in force in most Islamic Arab countries: while their Constitutions proclaim equality between the sexes, when it comes to putting that equality into practice they are still influenced by Muslim law and the mores of a patriarchal society. 106. In family law, the dichotomy is glaring. The women whom the delegation met denounced the conservatism of the Shariah court judges who, in the absence of a family code, have extensive discretionary powers which they often exercise to women’s detriment. When domestic violence occurs, medical certificates and clear traces of violence are not taken into consideration: the judges demand eye-witnesses. In the event of divorce, the husband keeps the house; when a woman sues for divorce the proceedings are costly, uncertain and may drag on for years. Bahraini women married to bidouns (expatriates) cannot transmit their nationality to their children. 107. Given this mind-set, women are of course excluded from positions of authority and certain areas of public life: to this day there are no female judicial officers, although there is no law banning them from the profession. The delegation did, however, meet some highly qualified female Bahraini legal scholars, practising as lawyers, university lecturers or militant human rights activists in the women’s movement. 108. The women’s movement, which first emerged in 1969, is especially active. Contacts with women’s associations gave the delegation the opportunity to meet some women of admirable fortitude who had been involved in the events Bahrain had undergone: they had been imprisoned, some had been tortured, but they were continuing to do battle to change social mores vis-à-vis women.