Bahrain’s king has ordered that each family in the tiny Gulf monarchy be given $3,000 to mark the 10th anniversary of a national charter for reforms, state news agency BNA said yesterday.

The decision came as cyber activists called for protests in Bahrain starting from Monday to demand political, social and economic reforms. Bahrain’s government has announced measures to support food prices and help families in need, as revolts in Egypt and Tunisia, sparked by poverty and unemployment, led to the ouster of both regimes.

In a February 2001 referendum, Bahrainis approved a national charter for reform which restored a Parliament dissolved in 1975, and in February 2002, Bahrain became a kingdom ruled by a constitutional monarchy.