RIYADH, 19 January 2006 — It is a problem that is not going away and one which often has some very unpleasant consequences. It is Saudi women married to non-Saudi men. Such marriages often generate complications that slowly destroy the marriage and, if there are children, they become the innocent victims.
Amal, a Saudi teacher, was married to a non-Saudi man for more than 13 years. She finally decided to seek a divorce because of the many problems they faced. He decided not to remain in Saudi Arabia and to take their children with him.
“I would never have agreed for him to take my children away but because he is not Saudi, they do not have Saudi citizenship. If they were Saudis, I would have been able to prevent him from taking them.”
She said the children of a Saudi mother should have Saudi nationality just as the children of a Saudi man do. When the children are legally able to make a decision, they can decide which nationality to take. She also believes that the name of a non-Saudi husband should be recorded so that he cannot leave the country without his wife’s knowledge.
Abeer, another Saudi married to a non-Saudi, said that she wanted to include her children on her passport. After long and complicated bureaucratic battles and time-consuming procedures, she was able to do so at last. But when the passport expired and she wanted to renew it, the new passport did not include her children names.
“A Saudi man can have his children on his passport and his wife can be given Saudi nationality after the birth of their child. Why this discrimination?” she asked.
Abeer said that under existing law, Saudi mothers were unable to protect the rights of their children.
Maha, whose husband is a non-Saudi, spoke about some problems that affect her marriage life. She said that every time she and her husband want to travel, he must bring permission from his sponsor that he is allowed to travel and that the permission must be attested to and stamped with a seal by the chamber of commerce. They have experienced situations that are completely absurd.
She explained, “I was traveling by bus with my husband to a neighboring country. The passport officials refused to allow me to leave the country, saying that I did not have my father’s permission. I told them that my husband was with me but they refused to acknowledge him as my husband,” she said.
In the end, she had to cancel the trip and return to Riyadh, promising to bring their marriage certificate in future.
Badreya, a Saudi teacher, spoke about the problems she encountered after she married a non-Saudi. She said that her husband was unable to support the family here because of his low salary and that she consequently had to bear the bulk of the financial burdens. “I can barely support my family because I have to pay SR600 for every one of my children to renew their iqamas. I think the government should exclude Saudi mothers from renewing their children’s iqamas and give them Saudi nationality,” she said.
Nadeya, a hospital employee, has four daughters by a foreign husband who has now left her. Now she fears that her death will leave her children in a terrible limbo. “I watched them grow up, fully aware they have no future here because they are not Saudi. I wonder how they would live if I died. They cannot get my retirement salary after I die because they are not Saudis. I wish the government would review our case and grant my daughters Saudi nationality,” said Nadeya.
