Manama, The Committee for Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa Award for the Advancement of Bahraini Women (2024-2026) held its first meeting, chaired by Lulwa Saleh Al Awadhi, Secretary General of the Supreme Council for Women (SCW), at the SCW headquarters.

Lulwa Al Awadhi welcomed new committee members and provided an overview of the award’s progress in previous cycles. She noted an increase in participation, with 356 entries in the seventh cycle (2022), and highlighted the growing engagement of women in both the public and private sectors in 2023, with participation rates reaching 55% and 36% respectively. The number of equal opportunity committees in the public sector rose to 63 in 2024, with 25 in the private sector.

The committee reviewed its key responsibilities, including proposing the criteria for all award categories, nominating organisations and individuals, and submitting recommendations to the SCW President for final approval. Additionally, discussions focused on the Roy
al Decree (17) of 2019, which expanded the scope of the award to include civil society institutions and individuals, as well as the role of the international judging committee in overseeing the nomination process.

The committee also examined the evaluation criteria and emphasised the importance of reviewing all participation forms to provide feedback, and adjusting the criteria to reflect the award’s objective of recognising the advancement of Bahraini women.

The committee members include Shaikh Khalifa bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, CEO of Bahrain Bourse; Mariam Ahmed Jumaan, Chairperson of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) and SCW board member; Dr. Abdulrahman Abdulhussain Jawahery, CEO of Bapco Refining; Hala Hussain Yateem, Chairperson of National Bank of Bahrain (NBB); Osama Saleh Al Alawi, Undersecretary for National Economy at the Ministry of Finance and National Economy; Maha Abdulhameed Mufeez, CEO of Tamkeen; Dr. Abdulrazzaq Mohammed Al Qahtani, Acting Deputy CEO for Operations at the Soc
ial Insurance Organisation (SIO); Faisal Ahmed Mohammed Saleh Abdullah, Assistant Undersecretary for Commercial Registration and Companies at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce; and Reem Hassan Hameed Marhoon, Director-General of Policy and Wages at the Civil Service Bureau (CSB).