The Law and FGM/C: Bahrain

There is no clear data on the prevalence of FGM/C in Bahrain as no official surveys have been conducted, and officials deny that it occurs in the country. Equality Now, in their 2025 Report ‘The time is now: End female genital mutilation/cutting, an urgent need for global response 2025’ mentions a 2006 U.S. State Department report that refers to ‘several cases’ of FGM/C being known to the Bahrain Human Rights Society in 2004. The Equality Now report goes on to say that an online survey conducted in 2013 with 992 participants from 11 countries across the Middle East found that 8.3% of the female survey participants from Bahrain reported having undergone FGM/C. 

There is no specific law relating to the criminalisation of those who perform FGM/C. However, some provisions of the Bahrain Penal Code (1976) and the Child Act (2012) can be read as addressing and prohibiting FGM/C practices.