Manama: Shaikha Mai Bint Mohammad Al Khalifa is set to become Bahrain's new information minister, replacing Jehad Bu Kamal in a limited cabinet reshuffle slated for Monday.
Shaikha Mai, the former assistant undersecretary for culture and heritage, will be the second woman in the government, and the third woman to ever hold a ministerial portfolio.
Dr Nada Haffadh became the first woman minister in 2004 when she was handed the health portfolio. However, she left in 2007 after a bitter standoff with a parliamentary committee investigating alleged irregularities in her ministry.
Following the splitting of the labour and social affairs ministry, Dr Fatima Al Belooshi was appointed minister of social development.
On Thursday evening, the Bahrain News Agency said that the information ministry would be renamed Ministry of Culture and Information and that Shaikha Mai Bint Mohammad Al Khalifa would be appointed to the post. Traditionally, the information minister is responsible for the information, culture and tourism departments. However, tourism is now expected to be moved to a separate authority.
Removal not explained
The news agency did not give an explanation for the removal of Bu Kamal, 49, who was appointed minister in September 2007, but there is wide popular speculation that the strained relations between the new head of the Bahrain Radio and Television Corporation (BRTC), appointed by Bu Kamal, with several employees and the press were an important factor.
Bu Kamal, an elected independent lawmaker in the 2002-2006 parliament and an appointed Shura Council (lower house) representative until his appointment, is credited with promoting the new press law that will supplant the controversial 2002 law if it is passed by the parliament. The new law provides for scrapping prison terms for journalists and easing conditions for bringing out daily newspapers.
Shaikha Mai is popular among intellectuals and writers for her efforts to promote culture in Bahrain and for promoting respect for Gulf traditions abroad.
Instrumental in establishing several private institutions by buying and restoring old buildings, mainly in Muharraq, the traditional fief of artistic activities in Bahrain, Shaikha Mai has also organised events to highlight the contributions of poets, intellectuals and thinkers.
She helped register Qalat Al Bahrain, an ancient sea-front castle that stands as a reminder of the Dilmun civilisation, on the Unesco World Heritage List and was the main driver behind the annual Spring Festival, a cultural event featuring performers from around the world.
Shaikha Mai courted controversy in 2007 after a parliamentary ad-hoc panel pronounced her guilty of gross negligence by allowing a Lebanese dance troupe to stage during the festival a "sexually-charged and depraved show".
By Habib Toumi
© Gulf News 2008
