First elected woman joins Bahrain parliament

MANAMA, Bahrain — A British-educated civil servant has become the first female to serve as an elected member of Bahrain's parliament, the Gulf kingdom said Tuesday.

Eighteen women are among 221 candidates vying for seats in the 40-member assembly in the Nov. 25 vote.

But Lateefa al-Geood was the only candidate who registered to run in her region, meaning she has already technically won a seat, Bahrain's official news agency said.

"I'm very proud as a Bahraini woman to reach this point, and I hope more than one female candidate reaches the parliament," al-Geood told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Thirty-one women ran in municipal and parliamentary elections in 2002, but failed to win any seats. Bahraini women won the right to vote a year earlier as part of a national referendum that turned the small Gulf state into a constitutional monarchy.

Six women already serve in Bahrain's upper chamber of parliament, but they were appointed, not elected.

Al-Geood holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Helwan University in Egypt and a master's degree in financial management from the University of Nottingham in England. She currently works in Bahrain's Ministry of Finance, as the head of the human-resources department.