Monday, July 30, 2007

To Keep Homes Intact

Monday, 30 July 2007
Ministry recommends citizenship for foreign mothers of Saudi children

By Sabria S. Jawhar

OFFICIALS at the Ministry of Social Affairs have submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Interior that, if passed, guarantees citizenship or at least permanent residency to foreign mothers of Saudi children, an official said.

"We have submitted the proposal. We are waiting for the Ministry's (of Interior) answer as it is the only concerned authority in this matter," said Nora Aal-Al-Sheikh, director of the supervision office at the Ministry of Social Affairs in Makkah region. She said that with the increasing number of divorce cases in general and among Saudi and non-Saudi couples in particular, foreign mothers of Saudi children should be granted citizenship in order to keep their rights as well as the family ties intact.

This citizenship, she explained, could be with specific limitations in order to prevent misusing or passing it on to those who are not entitled from the mother's side.

They could also be given a permanent Iqama (residency permission) as a temporary solution, she added.

Hadyah, an Arab national who didn't want her full name or nationality published, is only one example of many women who have been victims to misuse of custody and absence of a multilateral or bilateral treaty among Arab states dealing with the enforcement of custody agreements or judgments. She was married to a Saudi man who was 23 years her senior.

The marriage was not a fruit of love or agreement. On the contrary, it was mainly motivated by her impoverished condition and his desire to wed.

"I had to support my family and help them to survive and he was the only one who offered that sort of help with the condition of my becoming his wife," she said.

Unlike most of such kind of marriages that take place outside Saudi Arabia, Hadyah's marriage was legally registered and all of her rights as a wife were kept intact.

At the beginning of the marriage, he was so kind and generous with her as well as with her family.

But the appearance of happiness did not last long as after having two babies, he grew tired of the continuous travel to her country and decided to bring her, along with their children back to the Kingdom.

Hadyah's journey of suffering began here. His behavior, she explained, dramatically changed especially in the presence of his first wife and her children.

"He started to look down on me and treat me like a maid," she said. "Sometimes, he humiliates me by talking about my family's background as if he picked me up from the street."

Having been told that in Saudi Arabia custody disputes favor the Saudi parent and often rules in favor of men, Hadyah decided to maintain her marital status intact as her main concern was to retain the custody of her children and not be forced to leave the country if divorced.

The disagreement between her and her husband reached such a level and he decided to go forth with divorcing her and keep their children under the custody of his first wife.

Since visitation rights under these circumstances are not implemented unless the Saudi parent with custody rights voluntarily puts in the effort to make arrangements, it took Hady ah nine years to see her children again.

This reunion only occurred when she obtained an Umrah visa to enter the Kingdom accompanied with her new husband.

Al-Sheikh said that such kinds of problems are common among such marriages.

Actually, she added, her administration faces such kind of custody problems even among Saudi couples when the father abuses his rights.

Usually, she added, when couples face a crises in their marriage and decide on divorce, the main issue that results in a breakdown of communication between them is with regard to the guardianship and custody of their children.

In most of the cases, she explained, the husband insists on keeping the children and deporting the mother back to her home country without any respect to her feelings as a mother. The woman, she added, finds it difficult to find someone who is ready to sponsor her due to the regulations of the Ministry of Labor that tend to limit the number of visas given to non-Saudis.

The divorce also makes it difficult for a non-Saudi woman to live in Saudi Arabia without having a fixed financial income that allows her to support herself as well as her children in case she is granted custody.

Khalid Abu Rashid, A Saudi lawyer, said that the court does not differentiate between Saudi and non-Saudi mothers when it comes to custody.

"The ruling is usually in favor of the parent who can provide the best environment for the children whether the mother or the father regardless of their nationality," Abu Rashid said.

However, he said, due to the very limited job opportunities for non-Saudi women and means of financial support, they cannot provide their children with a suitable environment.

Based on this, most of the judges rule in favor of the father who, in most cases, is capable of supporting the children financially.

In the absence of the enforcement of the law of alimony in Saudi Arabia, Nora suggested taking the alimony out of the husband's salary automatically every month. She said that there should be a system that keeps the mother with her children after divorce and grants them a good monthly income.

Those children, she added, will be part of the fabric of the Saudi society, thus should be granted a healthy family environment in which they grow up as good citizens.

"Depriving children from their mother's care will create negative emotional states among them to an extent that would increase violence and certainly reflect negatively on the society," she said.

"The system should be developed in a way that serves the society to which it was initially introduced.

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