Women in Bahrain to Lobby for Equal Nationality Rights
Written by Rose Foran
Published Monday, July 13, 2009
Bahrain’s Supreme Council for Women (SCW) announced the launch of a major campaign for equal nationality rights, along with several other Bahraini women’s advocacy organizations.
The SCW gathered representatives from Bahraini women’s groups across the country to plan a push to revise Article 4 of Bahraini Citizenship Law, which does not allow for equal nationality rights for women.
Women in Bahrain to Lobby for Equal Nationality Rights
Written by Rose Foran
Published Monday, July 13, 2009
Bahrain’s Supreme Council for Women (SCW) announced the launch of a major campaign for equal nationality rights, along with several other Bahraini women’s advocacy organizations.
The SCW gathered representatives from Bahraini women’s groups across the country to plan a push to revise Article 4 of Bahraini Citizenship Law, which does not allow for equal nationality rights for women.
In Bahrain, women married to foreigners do not have the right to pass on their nationality to their husbands or children, even if they are born on Bahraini soil. There are at present over 2,000 ‘stateless’ families, whose children cannot obtain citizenship because they were born to a foreign father.
“Children of Bahraini mothers don’t have the chance to be normal citizens, and they face a lot of difficulties when they go to hospitals or schools,” Nabeel Rajab, President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, told The Media Line. “They’re not treated equally by government institutions.”
“The government has always treated this issue in a very discriminative way: for a man who marries a non-Bahraini, his children are entitled to Bahraini nationality. But this does not apply for women.”
According to Article 4 of Bahraini Citizenship Laws, only men can pass nationality to their families: their children are automatically considered Bahraini citizens by birth, and a foreign wife must wait five years to attain citizenship.
However, the same article states that illegitimate children of Bahraini women will be granted nationality, provided that the father is unknown or legal ties are severed.
“There are a lot of contradictions in Bahraini laws without any justifications,” Rajab explained. “I understand it’s because they are afraid of Bahraini women marrying to an Iranian, for example. That could be one of the reasons.”
According to Rajab, there are many issues at play with the contradictions in citizenship laws. “The upsetting thing is that Bahrain is importing tens of thousands of people from many different countries and giving them Bahraini nationality, to decrease the number of indigenous Shiites and increase the number of Sunnis,” he said.
While the SCW mobilizes their efforts, Rajab feels that, as in past years, the battle over Article 4 will continue to remain at standstill.
“They do cosmetic changes here and there but there have been no significant improvements to this issue in the past year,” he said.
However, there does appear to be some progress on the issue of equal nationality rights, despite Article 4 remaining unchanged.
In the past month, Bahrain endorsed a law that would give families of Bahraini mothers with foreign husbands the same treatment as naturalized families regarding government fees and services, with a focus on education and health.
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