Munira Fakhro

Dr. Munira Fakhro is a Bahraini academic and was a candidate in Bahrain's 2006 general election for Wa'ad, the country's largest leftist political party.

Early and personal life Fakhro grew up in British-ruled Bahrain, and was one of five Bahraini girls chosen to receive a high school education abroad in Beirut.

She is a Sunni Muslim and a cousin of Layla Fakhro.

Academic career Upon returning to Bahrain after completing her PhD, Fakhro worked for the Ministry of Labour as head of the welfare department before leaving for an academic position at the University of Bahrain.

Fakhro is an associate professor at the University of Bahrain. She has conducted research on gender, citizenship and civil society in the Persian 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.

Fakhro was 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.

1990s activism During the 1990s uprising in Bahrain, 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 from the petition 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.

After losing her job, Fakhro moved to the United States, where she worked as a visiting scholar at Columbia University (beginning in 1997) and at Harvard University. Bahraini Salafist party, Asalah, is opposed to women standing for parliament.

2011-2016 Fakhro remained a member of the Waad during the 2011 Bahraini uprising.

By 2016, Fakhro's home had been firebombed twice.

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