Citizens without citizenship: The Gulf women banned from giving their children citizenship

Nationality laws in Gulf countries discriminate against women, preventing them from passing their nationality on to their children when they marry a foreign man. In the Sultanate of Oman and Kuwait, a woman must be divorced or be a widow in order to request the granting of citizenship to her children, in addition to other conditions.

In the UAE, there are certain conditions that may lead to the acquisition of citizenship by the children of an Emirati woman. In Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar, the matter is still almost impossible, as women frequently request citizenship for their children for years with no luck.

Iranian in Kuwait

“We do not differ from them in appearance or accent, I don’t know any other home, I was born and raised in Kuwait, this is where I belong," 35-year-old Dr Hossein Hayat, son of a Kuwaiti mother and Iranian father, told The New Arab.

"The laws that prevent women from GCC countries from passing their citizenship to their children are unconstitutional"

Hossein told The New Arab that his three siblings were raised by his mother and her Kuwaiti family after their parents got separated. “We never felt that we didn’t belong until we started to hear others in school calling us the 'Iranians'. We got beaten up because we weren't Kuwaitis, we were bullied."

As children, Hossein and his siblings faced discrimination when they needed health care, explaining how "he needed to pay a sum of money to get treated or consulted on," which differs from citizens.

"We also need to renew our residencies and passports at the embassy and now that we're older, we need our mother to be in attendance to finalise bureaucratic agreements. Naturally, this causes psychological and emotional stress."

Hossein was selected to join a football club and his brother was selected to play for a handball club as they both showed promise, but they weren't able to play in official matches or represent the club officially as they were 'loss investments'.

"This kind of thing had a great impact on us as children and in our teenage years. One of my brothers tried to take his life on more than one occasion, but luckily we were able to save him."

Although the law in Kuwait allows Kuwaiti women — divorced or widowed by a foreigner — to grant their children Kuwaiti nationality after the age of 21, Hossein and his siblings didn’t get it, despite submitting their application in 2006.

Hossein had to apply for asylum in the UK, where he was studying when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Kuwait deported their citizens, but Hossein stayed because he was Iranian, and his visa was under threat. "I got scared I would be deported to Iran, a country I have only visited two times as a child. I criticise the country a lot on social media for its politics. I had no option but to seek asylum in the UK."

Hossein has a Ph.D. in Geology and Nanoscience, but he is unable to accept the job offer from the University of Birmingham until the foreign office gives him a work permit, "all because of unfair laws back in Kuwait," Hossein told The New Arab.

Revocable citizenship

On the other hand, Emirati academic Mira Al Hussain, who married a non-Emirati, doesn’t want to pass her citizenship to her 10-year-old son: “I have not taken any steps to pass on my citizenship to my son or spouse because Gulf citizenships are revocable — they are gifts rather than rights, this makes them less appealing anyway, even for full citizens like myself. In fact, I would rather not. I think there’s great value in retaining one’s citizenship, especially if it is a Western citizenship that provides membership to a democratic state."

Mira continued, "If my son decided to become a politician, a journalist, an activist or an outspoken member of society, I know that he will not be vilified or criminalised by his state, nor will he be stripped of his nationality — all of which are possibilities in the Gulf,” she said.

Mira lived the first few years of her marriage in the UAE after which she moved to Europe. “It was extremely costly to sponsor my son and renew his visa every three years. I had to pay fines for his ‘overstay’ when his visa expired — costs that Emirati fathers never have to bear, Also my son had to be enrolled in a private school and was also not entitled to national healthcare. To spare him the emotional challenges he might experience, we decided to leave the country,” she explained. 

'We live in fear'

Zahra Al Najjar, a Bahraini mother-of-five from an Iraqi man she got married to 41 years ago, lives in fear for her children’s future. “Although it was easy to get residency permits for my husband and kids, it gets harder and harder with time regarding the health care and renewal of the permits. In one case, it took more than six months to get a visiting visa for my daughters and my husband," Zahra told The New Arab. 

“Today, children of Bahraini women are without any guarantees after the age of eighteen. It is difficult to renew their residency without a work contract, although some laws have been amended that grant Bahraini children some rights but this is still incomplete without citizenship.”

The laws that prevent women from GCC countries from passing their citizenship to their children are unconstitutional, as all GCC country's constitutions possess an article that explicitly declares the equality of all citizens under the law.

Bahraini Attorney Yara Al Ahmadi explains: “A nation's constitution encompasses the indisputable principles of a nation, and any laws that contravene the Constitution are considered unconstitutional, or in other words, null and void, and the nationality laws of these countries stipulate that children born to male citizens acquire citizenship of the respective country by virtue of birthright. This rule applies irrespective of the mother's nationality or location of birth. However, the same citizenship rights do not extend to female GCC citizens. In cases where a female GCC citizen marries a non-national, her children are not entitled to citizenship by birthright.”

“This discrepancy highlights an inequality of rights between male and female citizens of GCC countries," Yara explains further. "Such inequality is a clear violation of the Constitution and various international laws and treaties, notably the CEDAW.

The fact that children of GCC women nationals do not enjoy citizenship rights equal to those of children born to male nationals gives rise to a myriad of problems. These issues encompass, but are not limited to, the risk of statelessness, employment discrimination, inability to own property, denial of social insurance, and restricted access to government allowances and scholarship opportunities”.

"It is imperative for GCC countries to address these disparities and ensure nationality laws align with the principles of equality and non-discrimination," Yara concludes.

Nazeeha Saeed is a Bahraini journalist, working with international media platforms. She has been advocating for women's rights and freedom of expression for the past 12 years through articles and collaboration with different regional and international media outlets. Nazeeha is also the recipient of the Johann Philipp Palm Award for Freedom of Speech & Press 2014, and the Heikal Arab Press Award 2021. She is also a member of The Marie Colvin Journalists' Network

Follow her on Twitter: @nazihasaeed