Bahraini oppressor of women gets businesswomen’s award

This video is called EU’s Nobel peace prize allays misery but some say it is undeserved.

Quite some times, the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to undeserving people and organisations.

Alfred Nobel from Sweden was a capitalist, but critical of capitalism.

He made lots of money from wars, but did not like war.

The Nobel Peace Prize, bequeathed by him, should be, according to Alfred Nobel, for those who have “done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”

The European Union, winner of the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize, does not deserve that prize. The European Union has not contributed anything to the reduction of standing armies, let alone their abolition.

Unfortunately, there are more undeserving recipients of awards.

The International Federation of Business and Professonal Women (BPW International) has awards of its own.

Now, a very undeserving Bahraini royal family prince, doubling as Prime Minister of the Bahraini dictatorship, will receive a BPW award.

President of BPW International Freda Miriklis (left) with Bahrain Prime Minister Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa (right)

From the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, on 20 May 2014:

Prize to Bahrain PM an Insult to Women in Bahrain

The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) has expressed shock and disappointment at BPW International regarding their decision to award the Bahrain Prime Minister with the President’s Gold Award.

The award, set to be presented to Bahrain‘s PM in BPW International’s 2014 Congress in South Korea, recognises a male leader who has been instrumental in the empowerment of women within his sphere of influence. It has come at a time when women in Bahrain are being killed, tortured, degraded, ill-treated, sexually abused, arbitrarily imprisoned and insulted.

BIRD has sent a letter to the BPW International President, Freda Miriklis, alongside a letter to the Patron of the Congress President of the Republic of Korea Geun-hye Park and letters to BPW International staff and partners including UN Women, the International Trade Centre, the International Organisation of Employers, the Commonwealth Business Council, WEConnect, the British Association for Women Entrepreneurs, the Global Summit of Women and UN Global Compact. Letters have also been sent to organisers of the 2014 BPW International Congress, speakers at the event and staff at the event venue.

Text of the letter to Freda Miriklis: see here.

British Home Office Poised to Deport Bahraini Teen Isa Haider Alaali Despite Torture and Imprisonment Risk: here.

Bahrain youth killed in clashes with police: here.

Bahraini teenager dies after clashes with police: here.

A 14-year-old protester was fatally shot at close range, allegedly by security forces, in the village of Sitra, Bahrain, on May 21: here.

This Saturday, May 24, prominent Bahraini human rights defender Nabeel Rajab is scheduled to be released from prison after completing an arbitrary and politically-motivated sentence. After 2 years detention, Rajab will leave prison only to find his country in crisis. Compounding abuses from the past three years have laid waste to human rights in Bahrain, creating a rapidly deteriorating security situation for a key U.S. ally. As the 26^th Session of the United Nations (U.N.) Human Rights Council begins next month in Geneva, the United States has the opportunity to lead a coalition of concerned States to frankly and forcefully engage its Gulf ally and encourage it to reverse this dangerous trajectory: here.

MENA Solidarity, advocacy organisation Bahrain Watch and Bahraini human rights activists at the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy have worked together to produce a background briefing for trade unionists on the situation in Bahrain. We’ll be distributing the briefing the annual congress of lecturers’ union UCU next week, or you can download copies here. bahrain_briefing_2014_front bahrain_briefing_2014_back