Officially opened in 2007, the Aisha Yateem Family Counselling Centre has helped and protected more than a thousand women in Bahrain by offering social, psychological and legal family counselling in the strictest of confidence. Kristian Harrison visited the organisation to find out more about its amazing work in the Kingdom.
The genesis of the Centre’s founding actually began in 1955 when Aisha Yateem, who the Centre is named after, started the Bahrain Young Ladies Association out of her desire to improve education and the lives of women in Bahrain. Before she passed away, she had a deep desire to establish a location to help abused woman, which came to fruition thanks to her daughter-in-law, Shirley Yateem.
As a mother of four, Shirley Yateem has inherently been a women’s advocate, especially, as she says, in a region where men have more cultural advantages.
“It was an incredibly proud moment when HRH Shaikha Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa opened our Centre in 2007,” explains Mrs. Yateem. “Since then, we have continued to operate and help more than a thousand families in Bahrain and we have gone from strength to strength, earning the trust of women who previously were perhaps too scared or intimidated to reach out to us.
“We are a registered charity and NGO, so we raise money through our thrift shop boutique, our annual bazaar and through regular fundraisers including monthly breakfasts. In fact, we hosted our last one on November 29 and also donated proceeds to the Palestinian cause which is important to us too.”
The day-to-day running of the centre falls to its manager, Ms. Jalila Ismail Alkhabbaz, who is also a highly-trained counsellor and psychologist.
“The most common reasons for women visiting the centre are infidelity and psychological problems among couples and families, as well as the deteriorating economic situation and family intervention,” explains Ms. Alkhabbaz. “Marriage counselling is one of our most important services, because in the majority of cases, issues can be solved through professional mediation and most issues are actually just stemming from miscommunication.
“Of course, there are certain situations which cannot be fixed, and that’s where we also offer extensive and free services to help women in cases where they’d usually have little support. Criteria include violence, prevention from studying or working, abandonment, humiliation, prohibition from disposing of personal money and more cases.
“Anyone enlisting our services do not have to share any of their private information without consent, and workers cannot obtain any document or record any information in the file without the consent and approval of the person using our service. Needless to say, the Centre does not provide any data or information to any entity or individual unless it obtains an official request from government institutions.”
Due to the nature of some cases and their sensitivity, it is not always possible for personal attendance of clients and so the Centre has established a free hotline which is available from 7am to 6pm on weekdays. This provides immediate counselling to women who cannot reach the Centre with psychological and moral support and the enactment of a safety plan to minimise further incident in violent situations.
The Centre has received approximately 1,320 cases of domestic violence to date, but another important aspect of its service is the continued follow-up care. Ms. Alkabbaz explains that 30 percent of cases continue to receive support long after their issues are resolved, and the women who have thrived since receiving help then support each other as a community.
One such example is the case of a woman, who wishes to be referred to as Narjes, who joined the interview to discuss her story.
“I was in an abusive marriage and was struggling very badly with my mental health, not knowing where to turn,” she reminisces. “I eventually plucked up the courage to come to the Aisha Yateem Centre and ever since my first session with a counsellor, I was so excited just to have someone that would actually listen to me and understand what I was going through.
“After sharing my story and talking through my options, I felt brave enough to pursue a divorce from my abusive husband. I received legal aid to facilitate this, and now I am so much happier. I cannot thank the Centre enough for its help, which is still ongoing as I occasionally meet social workers to discuss my progress and attend lectures which are hosted to spread the message to the community.
“Not only that, I felt confident enough to return to work and I also tell my colleagues and friends to seek out support if they are going through similar trouble.”
Any reader who believes they require the support of the Aisha Yateem Family Counselling Centre can enquire about its free services either through visiting its location in Hamad Town or by calling the hotline on 17 430-488.
