Saudi women marry foreign men for different reasons. Although I am against such marriages but for exceptional cases, I nevertheless sympathize with these women, who continue to face many hardships. The most pressing problem is the status of their children, since the law does not give children born to Saudi mothers and non-Saudi fathers Saudi nationality. They carry the nationality of the father even if they are born in the Kingdom.
I see no reason why these children are not given the right to decide which nationality they would like when they grow up. This is important especially where the mother is divorced or the father decides to live abroad.
Imagine a mother living with her children who don’t carry Saudi nationality while next door live their Saudi cousins. Or if the mother remarries, the children may find themselves living with Saudi brothers.
It is time this situation was corrected by giving these children Saudi nationality and treating them equally with children born to a Saudi father and a non-Saudi mother.
The problem is getting more complicated every day and although these children attend public schools until the secondary level, they are not allowed to attend Saudi universities. They also face problems when seeking medical care and employment.
Since the marriage was conducted legally and according to the country’s laws, the mother has every right to see her children given Saudi nationality if the family want that. The mother and children shouldn’t be forced to live abroad with the father, where they may encounter further problems.
Such a move would be in conformity with the Kingdom’s laws, which do not discriminate between men and women. It would help protect these children and ensure they do not take the wrong path because they were made to feel they do not belong to the country where they have lived all their life.
- Arab News From the Local Press 24 July 2003
