 Women's political rights in Bahrain saw an important step forward when women were granted the right to vote and stand in national elections for the first time in the 2002 election.However, no women were elected to office in that year's polls and instead Shī´a and Sunnī Islamic parties dominated the election, collectively winning a majority of seats.In response to the failure of women candidates, six were appointed to the Shura Council, which also includes representatives of the Kingdom's indigenous Jewish and Christian communities.