Sabika bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa
Sabika Al Khalifa, 15 January 2019
Consort of the King of Bahrain
Tenure14 February 2002 – present
Coronation14 February 2002
Born1948 (age 75–76)
Muharraq, Bahrain
SpouseHamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
Issue
HouseKhalifa
FatherIbrahim bin Muhammad Al Khalifa
MotherFatima bint Salman Al Khalifa
ReligionSunni Islam

Sabika bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa (Arabic: سبيكة بنت إبراهيم آل خليفة; born in Muharraq in 1948) is the first wife and consort of the king of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. She is the mother of Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

Personal life

Sheikha Sabika was born in Muharraq, Bahrain, in 1948 in the palace of her paternal grandfather, Sheikh Mohammed bin Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa.[1] She was born to Sheikh Ibrahim bin Muhammad Al Khalifa and Sheikha Fatima bint Salman Al Khalifa. Al Khalifa was raised in Riffa with her maternal grandfather, Salman ibn Hamad Al Khalifa, who was the Hakim of Bahrain between 1941 and 1960. She studied in Bahraini schools, and attended specialized courses in the United Kingdom and the French Republic.[1]

Sabika married her first cousin,[2] Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, on 9 October 1968.[2][3] She is the first wife of Hamad.[4] Sabika and Hamad have four children, three sons and one daughter:[2][3]

As a hobby, Sabika works with Arabian horses. She has worked to maintain breed purity and establish Bahrain as one of the first countries protecting the breed.[5]

Public life

Work with the Supreme Council for Women

In 2001, Bahrain announced that Sabika would chair the new women's council.[6] In 2008, she became the head of the Supreme Council for Women in Bahrain,[7][8] which encourages the expansion of women's rights in Bahrain.[9] This group encouraged women to vote in the 2001 elections.[10] In June 2005, Sabika hosted the first ladies of the Arab world in Bahrain for the second meeting of the Higher Council of Arab Women Organisation.[11] She formulated and supervised he implementation of the National Strategy for the Advancement of Bahraini Women, the strategic document for the Supreme Council for Women.[5]

In 2006 (shortly before the national election),[12] Sabika led the SCW in launching a women's political empowerment program to support and train women for participation in the public sphere. This program was the first of its kind in the Arab region.[5] She also launched a program for the economic empowrment of women.

While Bahraini women have made overall gains in political representation since its founding,[13] the SCW has been criticized due to its connection with the state and with Sabika. The SCW has been criticized for being unwilling to challenge the status quo.[14] It has also been accused of controlling, not supporting, women's political participation and deliberately diminishing the efforts of independent women's NGOs.[15] In this position, Sabika is considered "a role model for women on the pro-government side."[7]

Awards Created

In 2007, Sabika launched an award supporting productive families.

Sabika established Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka Bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa's Award for Empowering Bahraini Women, which encourages public and private organizations and individuals to support Bahraini women.[5] In 2016, she expanded this award to be the Princess Sabeeka Bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa Global Award for Women's Empowerment with the United Nations Women.[16] This award allocates $100,000 to each of three category.

Other Public Work

Sabika is the honorary president and a supporter of charities including UCO Parents Care Center and the Bahrain Society.[5] She is a supporter of causes and funds that encourage and support female entrepreneurship, youth empowerment, science and technology,and Bahraini cultural and artistic heritage. She is the chief patron of the Society for Women and Children in Bahrain[17] and has addressed the United Nations General Assembly on topics such as Children – future action and Children – programme implementation.[18]

In 2010, Sabika launched Bahrain's National Initiative for Agricultural Development.[19] She remains the President of the Consultative Council of the National Initiative for Agricultural Development.

Honours

  • China Women's College: Honorary Doctorate in Social Sciences, in honor of her role in women-oriented fields of work and society (2002)[5]
  •  Bahrain: Order of Ahmad the Victorious, First Class (2 November 2003).[5]
  •  Bahrain: Order of Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa (Wisam al-Shaikh ‘Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa), First Class (16 December 2008).[5]
  • Arab Towns Organization Award (2009)
  • League of Arab States: Arab Woman Distinction (2017)

Ancestry

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Princess Sabeeka Bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa". UN Women. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
  2. 1 2 3 East and Thomas 2003: 38
  3. 1 2 Sleeman 2003: 878
  4. ↑ "Meet 15 women married to the world's biggest despots". Business Insider India. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Supreme Council for Women (2017). "Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka Bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa" (PDF).
  6. ↑ "Bahrain to Establish Women's Council". Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. Vol. 20, no. 8. November 2001.
  7. 1 2 Women rising : in and beyond the Arab Spring. Rita Stephan, M. Charrad. New York. 2020. ISBN 978-1-4798-4664-1. OCLC 1120784076.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. ↑ Human rights: annual report (2004 ed.), London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 2004, p. 234, ISBN 978-0-903359-91-7
  9. ↑ Pegues 2007: 15
  10. ↑ Winkler 2007: 162
  11. ↑ Al Abded et al. 2006: 241
  12. ↑ Karolak, Magdalena (2012-12-20). "Bahraini Women in the 21st Century: Disputed Legacy of the Unfinished Revolution". Journal of International Women's Studies. 13 (5): 5–16. ISSN 1539-8706.
  13. ↑ Karolak, Magdalena (2021-09-01). "Authoritarian Upgrading and the "Pink Wave"". Contemporary Arab Affairs. 14 (3): 79–104. doi:10.1525/caa.2021.14.3.79. ISSN 1755-0912. S2CID 244240475.
  14. ↑ Kinninmont, Jane (June 2011). "Framing the Family Law: A Case Study of Bahrain's Identity Politics". Journal of Arabian Studies. 1 (1): 53–68. doi:10.1080/21534764.2011.576048. ISSN 2153-4764. S2CID 153776926.
  15. ↑ Welborne, Bozena C. (2016), Shalaby, Marwa; Moghadam, Valentine M. (eds.), "No Agency Without Grassroots Autonomy: A Framework for Evaluating Women's Political Inclusion in Jordan, Bahrain, and Morocco", Empowering Women after the Arab Spring, New York: Palgrave Macmillan US, pp. 65–90, doi:10.1057/978-1-137-55747-6_4, ISBN 978-1-137-56792-5, retrieved 2022-05-06
  16. ↑ Women, Supreme Council for. "The Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa's Global Award for Women". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  17. ↑ Women for Peace International
  18. ↑ Index to proceedings of the General Assembly: 15
  19. ↑ "About NIAD". Bahrain International Garden Show. Retrieved 2022-05-06.

Bibliography

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