eParticipation for all

The government is committed to addressing women’s, youth, and vulnerable groups needs so that they can unlock their full potential and contribute more fully to society. The Kingdom took leaping steps in ensuring that women’s and other members within the vulnerable groups’ voices are heard through various eParticipation platforms. the Government has enabled multiple channels to improve the participatory governance services for all segments of society. The channels include online mobile access with maximum coverage, access to technical devices, internet and data, and many more.

The Kingdom of Bahrain released the eParticipation Policy (PDF, 12 pages, 295KB) in July 2021, which governs government entities and their online communication and constituent engagement activities. It includes, but is not limited to information sharing, public consultation as well as collaboration with the constituents from all segments of the society. This Policy also applies to all topics, opinions, discussions, reports, documents, surveys, feedback, appeals, complaints, suggestions, petitions, and opinion polls that are offered, published, broadcasted or exchanged through electronic Participation tools provided by the Government of Bahrain through any of the Government’s digital channels such as websites and portals, surveys, radio, television, or applications or through any social networking sites, whether they are submitted or shared using computers, smart mobile devices or tablets.

Government Entities in Bahrain are entrusted to design Initiatives that are focused to eradicate the digital divide and give access to eParticipation and engagement by all segments within the Kingdom by providing access to Computer Hardware, Software, affordable Internet, and User Support for Constituents. The Strategy stipulates the Initiatives to consider various factors which include but are not limited to Access, Affordability, Age, Bandwidth, Content, Disability, Education, Gender, Migration, Location, Mobile, Speed and last but not the least the Usage of Services.

Social networking channels are also leveraged to increase the visibility and awareness among young women. Efforts are undertaken to publish Government decisions affecting women online, and women are encouraged to discuss these decisions through the eParticipation tools and platform such as social media channels and “Tawasul” to have their say in government policies, national initiatives and projects.

A number of national initiatives were already undertaken by various organizations to enable accessibility and engage women among other vulnerable groups in the national digital transformation journey including their capacity building and ensuring accessibility to various digital channels and services. Some of these initiatives were already undertaken by the private sector and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).

Moreover, the National Digital Strategy has given priority to vulnerable groups including women through defined and measurable factors to ensure their accessibility to the public digital services and channels. The concept of Internet to all has been applied in the Kingdom of Bahrain, bearing in mind the whole of Bahrain’s society. This was already measured and proven through the ITU figures that stated that the Kingdom Individuals accessibility to the Internet reached 99.5% including all the Society groups as per the latest report released by ITU in 2021. Accessibility and connectivity are enabled through various parties of the Kingdom in order for users to reach and conduct governmental services.

Furthermore, the Supreme Council for Women, the Royal Humanitarian Foundation, the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Ministry of Social Development are heavily mandated to address the needs of women and vulnerable groups while involving them in decision-making. Round tables, discussion groups as well as virtual meetings are being conducted to get some insights about their needs and their feedback and perception about the legislative framework that supports their life in the Kingdom. Moreover, these groups are involved in framing the strategies of these entities through consultations and group discussions as well as forums being conducted on a regular basis.