Women in Gulf countries experience discrimination as they are barred from granting their nationality to their children upon marrying a non-citizen man. Oman requires a woman to be divorced or widowed, among other conditions, to apply for nationality for her children, while the UAE has specific conditions for children of Emirati women to obtain nationality. In Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Qatar, it is nearly impossible for women to grant nationality to their children. Despite years of appeals to authorities, little has been done to address this issue.
The Bahraini parliament and other official or civil bodies have failed to address or solve this issue for the past two decades. The Supreme Council for Women has so far failed to solve the problem of more than 600 Bahraini families wavering between being Bahraini and being treated as foreigners on their land. Even with eight women elected to the House of Representatives in 2022, women’s issues remain a low priority. However, women’s voices continue to advocate for their rights. MP Hanan Al-Fardan prioritizes eliminating discrimination against women, including granting Bahraini women the right to grant citizenship to their children. MP Iman Shwaiter also promised to address women’s issues in the new Parliament and support a citizenship campaign to amend the Citizenship Act, which has affected many Bahraini women. Over 600 Bahraini families remain in limbo due to the lack of action.
Rabab's story
Rabab Salman, a Bahraini woman, married a foreigner in 2003 and has five children. Despite repeated attempts to obtain Bahraini nationality for her children, the family has faced rejection. Rabab’s children have lived their entire lives in Bahrain, but are not considered Bahraini citizens. She has tried to seek help from various government agencies, but to no avail.
In Rabab’s own words, “There is no psychological stability. I daily think about the fate of my children when they reach the age of eighteen, what will happen to them?” She fears for their future, especially in terms of getting scholarships for higher education.
Rabab has to renew her children’s residency every two years, during which they are treated as foreigners. She fears that her children will face more difficulties and anxiety when they turn 18, and hopes that obtaining Bahraini nationality will put an end to all their struggles.
Rabab’s story highlights the struggles that many families face when trying to obtain citizenship for their children in their own country.
Nidaa's story
Nidaa is a 48-year-old Bahraini woman who married a foreigner almost twenty-five years ago. She has three children from her marriage, the oldest of whom is twenty-four and the youngest is eleven. Despite applying for Bahraini nationality for her children since they were born, Nidaa has yet to see her application approved. Her two adult children can only stay in Bahrain on a work residency, which is difficult for them as foreigners to obtain employment.
Nidaa has expressed her sadness at being treated unfairly in her homeland. Her husband passed away several months ago, leaving her homeless as he was the sole breadwinner for the family. She now lives with her brother, but she knows this cannot be a long-term solution. Nidaa has applied to the Ministry of Housing for housing, but her application was rejected because her children are considered foreigners.
Bahraini lawyer, Zahraa, comments on this issue, saying, “The Nationality Law basically does not grant nationality to the children of a Bahraini woman married to a foreigner. Therefore, the analysis shows that either application is impossible, or in reality the children of some Bahraini women married to a foreigner are granted the nationality, while many other mothers do not get this right.”
Nidaa expresses her constant worry about her children’s fate, saying, “I live in constant worry for my children who do not even speak their father’s language, that they will be deported to his country, while they have lived in Bahrain all their lives. I am afraid for my middle son, who suffers from diabetes. If he needs healthcare, he cannot get it because he is a foreigner.”
Despite her attempts to seek help from various government agencies, including the Supreme Council for Women, the Department of Immigration and Passports, MPs, and ministers, Nidaa has not received any positive response. She hopes that her children obtaining Bahraini nationality will solve all their problems, including access to housing and employment, and will give her peace of mind about their future and well-being.
An Aggrieved Category
Alaa Mohammed, the husband of Rabab Salman, is convinced that this group of women is unfairly treated. He attributes the mistreatment to lack of knowledge, and lack of awareness about the negative effects on this category. He states, “Society reproaches my wife for her decision to marry a foreigner; they want to deprive her of her freedom of choice, as if we lived in the Middle Ages. It is also partly due to the official bodies and influential people who have not taken any serious steps to properly address this sensitive issue.”
Mohammed argues that Bahrain is ahead of many other countries in terms of rights and therefore should grant women the right to confer nationality to their children. He emphasizes, “Bahrain has a long history in the approach of empowering and educating women. It was one of the pioneering countries in the region that pushed in this direction, but unfortunately, recently, and with regard to this topic, women’s empowerment is used for media consumption only; on the ground there is nothing concrete, there are procedures and facilities, but the radical solution remains absent.”
Calls for Amendment
The Bahraini Constitution guarantees equality among its people, but its Nationality Law falls short in granting women equal rights. Article XVIII of the Constitution stipulates that “people are equal in human dignity, and citizens are equal before the law in public rights and duties.”
Despite this, women in Bahrain are denied the right to confer nationality to their children. Paragraph (A), Article (4) of the Nationality Law of 1963 replaced by Law No. 12 of 1989, states that only a child whose father is Bahraini can be considered Bahraini, which excludes Bahraini mothers from conferring their nationality to their children.
According to lawyer Zahraa Al-Watani, “The Bahraini Nationality Law issued in 1963 and its amendments constitute discrimination against women. They make men superior to women in their provisions, as they give Bahraini men married to a foreigner the right to grant the Bahraini nationality to their children with comfort and ease.”. Al-Watani insists on the urgent need for Bahraini legislators to amend Article 4 of the Nationality Law to grant Bahraini women married to foreigners the right to confer nationality to their children. The lawyer calls for alignment with the Convention On the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and urges Bahraini legislators to lift the reservation expressed to Article 9 paragraph two of CEDAW, which obliges States Parties to grant women equal rights with men regarding the nationality of their children. Bahrain has agreed to join the CEDAW by Decree-Law No. 5 of 2002 but expressed its reservation to the article in question, subject to the adoption of amendments to the nationality law regulating the right of Bahraini women married to non-Bahrainis to grant nationality to their children.
A long struggle
The Bahrain Women Union, an umbrella organization for 12 women’s groups, has been leading efforts to change the law. They have assisted affected women with legal and administrative procedures, communicated with legislative authorities, and conducted media campaigns. The group is also working with the Supreme Council for Women, headed by the King’s wife, to develop temporary measures until the law can be amended.
Al-Watani highlighted the suffering experienced by women and their children in sectors such as health, education, housing, and residency due to their lack of Bahraini nationality. While some minor changes have been made to facilitate their lives, such as issuing family joining visas for children and allowing mothers to sponsor their children born of a foreign father if they are studying, it is not enough. Permanent residency for children of Bahraini women is still controversial in Bahrain, and they often face difficulties finding jobs that provide a decent life as foreigners without nationality.
The struggles and demands of Bahraini women have led to some progress, such as allowing their children to receive free education in public schools and free health care until adulthood. However, they are not eligible for scholarships, study missions, or other benefits given to the children of Bahraini men. They also face other obstacles, including difficulties in obtaining loans from Bahraini financial institutions, lack of social insurance and unemployment allowance, and residency procedures.
According to Al-Watani, “One foreign nationality should not be favored over another, and there should be no other considerations of favoritism and discrimination in the eligibility of Bahraini women married to a foreigner to grant their children nationality.” The demands to change the Nationality Law are based on the principles of justice and equality outlined in the Constitution of Bahrain and international conventions, including CEDAW, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Although some progress has been made, the biggest problem remains unresolved; Bahraini women still cannot grant their children nationality unconditionally, on an equal basis with Bahraini men. In 2006 and 2011, the King of Bahrain granted nationality to 372 and 335 persons of Bahraini mothers, respectively. In 2009, a law was passed to treat the non-Bahraini wives of Bahraini men and the children of Bahraini women married to a non-Bahraini like Bahrainis in some government services fees. But the biggest problem remains unresolved, i.e. changing the law so that Bahraini women can grant their sons and daughters nationality unconditionally, as is the case for Bahraini men.
