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Summary: The issue of the children of Qatari women married to non-Qataris is at the heart of the National Human Rights Committee, which is believed to have recommended to the state to confer equal rights to these children.
[6 December 2011] - Following the United Arab Emirates (UAE) issuing a law yesterday allowing the children of Emirati women married to non-citizens to apply for nationality, the call in the Qatari community to give similar rights to the offspring of Qatari women with non-Qatari husbands is gaining ground. The UAE has issued a legislation which seeks to give the same rights to the children of Emirati women married to non-nationals that the citizens of the Emirates enjoy, media reports said. According to the law, such children can apply for UAE’s citizenship when they attain the age of 18 and can enjoy the same rights as UAE nationals before they are eligible to seek the citizenship of the Emirates. “Qatar should also follow suit and confer citizenship rights on the children of Qatari women who are married to non-nationals,” said a community source. However, according to Sheikha Al Jefairi, who is the lone woman member of the Central Municipal Council (CMC) and a legal expert, Qatar does have the law that allows the [children] of Qatari women married to foreigners to enjoy the same rights as Qatari nationals except that they are not entitled to a Qatari passport, but the legislation is not enforced. “I urge the transparency authority that has been recently set up by the Emir to act on the issue and make sure that the above law is put in force with immediate effect,” she said. The children of Qatari women married to non-Qataris are to be treated equally with nationals in matters like education and health, but it is unfortunate that the legislation that confers these rights on such children remains un-enforced, she said in remarks to The Peninsula. Currently, there is no law that allows the above children to seek Qatar’s nationality but Al Jefairi said she was hopeful that in the near future the privilege would eventually be given to them. She, though, added that some such children are indeed issued Qatari passports but the cases are treated by the authorities concerned on a case-to-case basis. Moza Al Malki, a prominent Qatari psychologist, said that with the UAE passing the above law, she expected the phenomenon to spread in the entire GCC like a ‘jungle fire’. The UAE’s step, she hinted, would go a long way in resolving to some extent the problem of population since UAE citizens remain heavily outnumbered by expatriates. This is more or less true of Qatar as well as other GCC states, so the entire region must have laws like the UAE. Speaking to this newspaper on the phone from Egypt, Al Malki said: “I want all GCC states, including Qatar, to emulate the example of the UAE.” She lauded the ruler of the UAE and said like his father who conferred equal rights on the Emirati women, he (the President of the UAE H H Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan) is furthering his legacy. Meanwhile, the issue of the [children] of Qatari women married to non-Qataris is at the heart of the National Human Rights Committee which after an extensive study of the problems these children and their parents face, is believed to have recommended to the state to confer equal rights [to these] children. Qatari social networking sites were also abuzz with the debate on the issue yesterday with people lauding the UAE for taking such a step One commentator praised Qatar’s human rights body for having formed a committee to study the problems of the children of Qatari women with foreign husbands and recommend to the government to frame a law that guarantees them equal rights. There were others too who posted comments on the issue and said they hoped that such a law would see the light of day sooner rather than later. Further Information:
pdf: http://arabia.msn.com/news/localnews/gf/uae/2011/december/11005449.aspx