The 2008 global economic crisis has had vast repercussions on the Gulf countries. In particular, Bahrain's weak economy has survived under the umbrella of various conflicting pulls: the hegemonic western impact toward globalization, and increased regional and local retrenchment that is expressed in religious, traditional, tribal, familial, and politico-economic interests and concerns. Collectively, these concerns have been exacerbated by the economic crisis and vocalized in a politicized discourse that has underpinnings of religious and ethnic alliances as its driving force. Within this framework, this paper traces the historical background and analyzes the current struggle of Bahraini women for codified rights of equality as already specified in the Constitution. This struggle has become entangled in the quagmire of local and international politics, and family law--one of the more controversial issues--reflects the local and global undercurrents of the fight. Despite Bahraini women's relative head start in education, employment, legislation of protective laws, and achievements compared to other Gulf States, local media, human rights organizations and individual interviews have provided ample evidence of the agony women and families suffer due to the lack of national protective laws and due to domestic violence against women. (Local Newspapers 2008-2010, & others) The official view as represented by the Bahrain Higher Committee for Women is that the battle is to legally confirm CEDAW's universal codes to benefit all women in Bahrain, in both the private and public arenas. While this is urgently needed, it has become an issue used to showcase power--both by the government and State-opposition forces. The opposition has used the discourse of the pulpit, and social and traditional norms while invoking women's support opposing the legislation. This resulted in the passing of a one-sided family law that split the society's legal reference and established a crisis of political confidence, the undertones of which are multi-dimensional and are further complicated by global politics. The focus of this research is to investigate the environment in which this struggle for rights exists and how it is manipulated by local politics and affected by international globalization efforts. Using a transnational approach and the voices of women themselves, the struggle for equality is studied through local, regional, and international media, as well as through interviews of Bahraini women, which will provide an ethnography of the subject and illustrate the diversity and complexity of the struggle facing women in Bahrain.