Munira Fakhro

Who is Munira Fakhro?

Munira Fakhro is a Bahraini academic and was a candidate in Bahrain's 2006 general election for the opposition Waad.

Dr Fakhro is Associate Professor at the University of Bahrain, having received her Doctorate in Social Policy, Planning and Administration from Columbia University where she has served as a visiting scholar since 1997. She has also conducted research on gender, citizenship and civil society in the Gulf States at the Centre for Middle East Studies, Harvard University. She has published works on Bahrain, including issues related to women, civil society and democratisation. Dr. Fakhro is also currently a Board member of the Bahrain Academic Society and the Supreme Council for Women. She was a member of the Advisory Board for the Arab Human Development Report 2004.

During the 1990s Uprising, Dr Fakhro was a signatory to the 1994 Popular Petition to the Amir calling for the restoration of the parliament and the 1973 constitution. This was followed by another petition in 1995 signed by 350 women calling for the restoration of democracy and an end to torture. As a result, the government of Bahrain demanded that she withdraw her name or be sacked from her position at the University of Bahrain. She refused to withdraw her name and was sacked along with several other of the signatories. However, King Hamad acceeded to the throne he carried out a general amnesty for all political prisoners and exiles, and Dr Fakhro was restored to her job at Bahrain University. Dr Fakhro was appointed by the King's wife, Sheikha Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, to the Advisory Board of the Supreme Council for Women.