Bahrain Mirror: Civil society organizations in Bahrain criticized what they described as "restrictions" imposed by the Government, noting that voluntary action in Bahrain has recently degraded due to the measures imposed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.

The chairman of the Future Youth Association Sabah Al-Zayani said that volunteer youth work in Bahrain has recently declined and that this reality must be recognized and corrected.

He explained that several factors are behind this decline, notably the diminished role of the civil society organizations as well as the difficulty of communicating with responsibles in the development sector, difficulty in issuing licenses and delays in approvals and procedures.

He added that "obtaining approval for money-raising license needs 6 months and, in return, the age of the boards of directors of the associations is two years."

Meanwhile, Bahraini Women's Society Chairperson Deena Al-Ameer pointed out that there are a number of impediments associated with the work of civil society institutions and that the ministry's role has become more supervisory than being a partner in the social movement.

She indicated that most of the problems are in the financial support and money-raising licenses, as well as the restrictions imposed by the ministry on all movements of associations. We suggest extending the duration of the money-raising license up to 3 years instead of one year.

For his part, Chairman of the Board of directors of Al-Naim Charity Society Sadiq Al Rahma said that they feel that the ministry is a supervisory party rather than a supporter, especially with regards to money raising. In this context, 3 requests to the society were rejected.

"Our work is based on donations, we cover the expenses of 43 university students, help 102 poor families per month, and we don't have a headquarters for the society," he further stated.

Arabic Version