The Campaign for Arab Women’s Right to Nationality

September 29, 2006 at 1:28 am · Filed under Arabisms, Seriously

Women’s right to equal citizenship is guaranteed by the majority of Arab constitutions, as well as by international law. Yet across the Arab world, women are denied their right to nationality – a crucial component of citizenship. Women who marry men of other nationalities cannot confer their original nationality to their husbands or children. Only fathers, not mothers, can confer their nationality to their children.

The Women’s Learning Partnership joins with regional partners in the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf to call for:

  • Legal reform enabling women to confer their nationality to their husbands and children without condition
  • Full implementation of reformed nationality laws and equal access to these laws for all women
  • ecognition of women as equal citizens in all areas of life

It’s so refreshing and so fantastic to see such campaigns coming out of the Arab world. We seriously need to start working on such reforms. Sign the petition.






  • Jumana

    how come Arab women look the other way and start focusing on women issues that pale by comparision to the horror and the denial of fundemental human rights Arab women have to endure in Iraq and Palestine? I have yet to see one campaign in solidarity with Arab women who are suffering great injustices and poverty and losing loved ones on a daily basis in war zones. I am dumbfounded and utterly confused as to how we set our priorities in defense of Arab women.

  • nads

    I heard that in the United States, the opposite is true- When a child is born outside of the US, the only automatic conferral of citizenship to children of one US citizen parent is through the mother. I think the idea is that since the mother is the primary caretaker, the child is more dependent on the mother and should receive her citizenship.

  • http://donthatemebecauseimbeautifulandsmart.blogspot.com {13}

    And hOnOur crime’s (!!).

  • http://gcitizen.blogspot.com/ UmZayd

    Actually, in Tunisia, women can transfer their nationality to their children. I am not sure it’s the only exception though.

  • http://blog.sweetestmemories.com Qwaider قويدر

    One of the SADDEST stories I ever heard was from a Kuwaiti woman, as she stood in the huge line for “foreigners” with her children (who’s father is Lebanese) and they never got the citizenship.
    While a Philippino (with all due respect to the Philippino people) got to go through the “Citizen” line because she was married to a Kuwaiti for few years.
    I’m not saying that the Philippino doesn’t deserve such a treatment. What I’m saying is that it’s really not fair what was happening to the Kuwaiti mother and her children (who would have their residency revoked for good if they stay outside of Kuwait for 6 months)
    These are some sad results of some societies in the Middle east, I just hope this campaign will gain enough momentum to actually change things

    Not this is one amazing effort that I am willing to rally wholeheartedly behind.

  • http://www.fk450.jeeran.com Fadi K

    Very good points here , bravo :)

  • Faroo7a al sixyah

    Count me in.

    Qwaider, while that story is heart-aching, it sadly isn’t news to me. I hear of it all the time. I know a Saudi women married to an Egyptian, and she tells me how horrible it gets. All she really wants is the government to recognize their marriage. On the other hand, while it is not permissble to marry foreign women without special permission from the interior ministry either, it is much easier for men to get it than women, as with women mobility, and thus autonamy -sans a male guardian or his consent- is nearly impossible; and in most cases there is an absence of consent. What Saudi would allow his daughter to marry a foreigner? Even if one man does, his brothers won’t like it one bit. In most cases, she ends up fighting all alone, and in Saudi, it is exceedingly difficult for any “she” to fight all by herself.
    So, while this woman is struggling for her marriage and kids to be legitimate in her motherland, I know of another woman -Italian, this time- who is married to a Saudi and whose kids are thus Saudi, who refuses to live here. She owns an estate (well, her husband does) in Italy where she resides most of the year and only visits Saudi once every few years to check up on her kids and the in-laws.

    Oh well, I last heard that in Saudi men had the right to “annul” a marriage of a female relative, with or without she and her spouse’s consent, if she is a tribal married to a non-tribal. Actually, it happened just a few weeks ago, google “Fatimah and Nasser”, as soon as Fatimah’s father died, her brothers anulled her marriage, despite their 2 kids. So, when will we start rallying for tribal women to confer that to their kids, eh? heh.

    We have got a looong way to go.

  • Heba

    The real stupid thing is the fact that the Arab League Laws don’t permit a dual Arab citizenship, Im married to a non Jordanian whose mother is Jordanian and he’s been living in Jordan for over 20 years, but because he cant have a dual arabic citizenship, he cant aquire the Jordanian nationality unless he gives up his father’s nationality, and now my daughters who were born in Jordan both cant have the Jordanian nationality, it doesnt make sense really, you can be an American Jordanian citizen but not a Lebanese Jordanian!!!

  • http://andfaraway.net Roba

    Jumana, I hate to break this to you, but the world does not revolve around Palestine and Iraq.

  • http://iman-a.com Iman

    “Jumana, I hate to break this to you, but the world does not revolve around Palestine and Iraq.”

    Well, the way I see it is that we can give attention to more than one issue and while Palestine and Iraq have major varying issues, they are not the only issues that need to be dealth with.

    Thanks for the link to petition, Roba!

  • http://blog.sweetestmemories.com Qwaider قويدر

    Yes, Faro7a, I know what you mean. It’s sad really
    But This annulment thing shouldn’t be legal, there is something wrong here …. And I’m talking Islamically. This is really alarming

    By the way, I also know of an American, married to Saudi guy, and she’s almost NEVER been there, but has the citizenship and all.

    This is one thing I would love to learn from the west, Citizenship is not linked to sex organs!! God damn it!

  • Faroo7a al mutheerah

    Qwaider, on that note, did you see Tash Ma Tash today?

    I highly recommend it. It should explain the very unislamic “nontribal/tribal-annulment” predicament. It’s very very very very sad how these pervert wahhabis are using islam (and the pious Salaf) for their own agendas. I believe today’s episode was especially about the ongoing Fatimah and Nassir case. As a tribal Najdi female myself, I definitely hope that the system in Saudi Arabia changes so that it stops giving power and authority to the wrong people.

    As for the example you give, I know of an American/Saudi couple, this time the woman is Saudi and her husband is a convert to Islam. They too dream of the day their kids get to live in mama’s hometown, Makkah.

    And here, here!!!! I totally agree with your last comment. Qwaider for Al-Mufti Al3am!!! Wooot, woot!

  • http://blog.sweetestmemories.com Qwaider قويدر

    Thanks Faro7a, May I take that as a compliment?

    Truth be said, tribal laws need to go. This can’t go on any longer, it’s making mockery of us. Governments need to take a stand once and for all.
    But with governments as oppressive and undemocratic as we have in the middle east, I’m sure this is going to take an act of god for it to happen

  • http://lammoush.iblog.com lammoush

    well i see quaider said what i would say, so i add my voice to his!! :)

  • Jumana

    Your comments do not surprise me. I understnd you very well. You champion women causes as a fashion statement and the US decides what’s fashionalble and what’s not.

  • http://cultureforall.blogspot.com Red Tulips

    Hey, I signed the petition! What a worthy cause! Thanks for highlighting it! I also added you to my links list. Great blog, and wonderfully designed. :-)

    Nads:

    You are not quite right about the US. In the US, if the mom is American, the child is automatically American. However, if the dad is American, then it must be proven that the father is actually the dad. Once proven, the kid can get citizenship via the dad.

  • qazi

    Jumana:

    The suffering endured by women in Iraq and Palestine is an issue for all Iraqis and Palestinians, not women alone. Conferring feminism to these issues is by all means legitimate, but it’s missing the larger picture. When we speak of women’s rights in Arab countries, we specifically look at it in the context of indigenous societal norms to the region. One thing is for sure. We say that the human rights violations in Arab countries does not vindicate Israel’s violations of human rights. And it doesn’t. Likewise, the violations of human rights of armed coalition forces in Iraq does not vindicate Arab societies of their tainted record as well, whether to women or men. Let’s try not to get consumed by violations by a single party. It doesn’t vindicate them, but we need to remember that it happens EVERYWHERE.