With women at the forefront of creating sustainable communities, the need for a female lens to be included in housing design by governments is crucial. After the most recent development in the Bahraini Ministry of Housing plan, which shifted towards more user-centered approaches, it represents a moment of opportunity to alleviate spatial and cultural mismatches prevalent in the current public housing design. This paper assesses the satisfaction of female residents within the Hidd housing project regarding the compatibility of physical design components with women’s functional and cultural expectations. Structured Likert-scale questionnaires were administered to 200 female respondents as part of a survey. Key variables for the analysis included space usability, personalization potential, accessibility for diverse users, indoor-outdoor integration, environmental comfort, and noise management. Results show a consistent discontent with privacy, poor layout resilience, and the lack of participation in the design process. Another major deficiency found was indoor-outdoor spatial integration. In contrast, the survey indicated moderate to high satisfaction with construction materials, perceived safety, and energy efficiency, which suggest at least partial alignment with sustainability goals. These findings highlight the critical need for a gender-sensitive, culturally responsive housing model that acknowledges the daily practices, privacy needs and family dynamics of Bahraini women. Finally, this paper suggests that participatory design mechanisms and gender-inclusive planning policies should be employed to enhance the role of women as co-designers of sustainable living environments. In line with Bahrain Vision 2030, these reforms will thus further improve the livability and broader resilience of the Kingdom’s public housing sector over the long term.