In 2007, a Yemeni national, Fatima Abdel Hakim, got married to Hamza Hamed, an Iraqi man and moved to live with him in Saudi Arabia, where he works as a mechanical engineer. Fatima told Khuyut that: “We lived as a happy family full of love and wellbeing, along with our four children who were born in KSA.”
Her husband traveled to Iraq to visit his parents, and from there a tragic news came to shock Fatima unexpectedly that Hamza died in a traffic accident, and it was difficult for her to travel to Iraq to attend his burial procedures.
In fact, the phenomenon of Yemeni women marrying to non-Yemenis goes back more than half a century, when a number of Egyptian teachers working in Yemeni schools used to marry Yemeni women, during the revolution of September 26, 1962, and there was no problem in that matter.
Fatima, who is from Ibb Governorate (central Yemen), bitterly recounts her tragedy, saying: “A month after the passing of my husband, I left the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Yemen to live with my family. Umm Hamza had invited me to visit Iraq, where my children held Iraqi citizenship, but the financial conditions, travel costs, and the circumstances of my husband’s family in Iraq did not encourage me to travel.” In addition, my husband’s family lived in one of the remote villages in northern Iraq, which lacked the most basic necessities. Life, which does not guarantee us a suitable living with its children."
But what is most important in this regard is that when she arrived in Yemen, she was surprised that the Yemeni authorities considered her children to be foreigners, starting with their admission into school, and passing through the rest of the regulations, procedures, and paper work. Thus, “I felt that the world had turned black in my face.” Fatima said, adding: “I had no choice but to submit their papers to the Interior Ministry, to request Yemeni citizenship for them. Despite the lengthy process, what shocked me was when I learned that they would not obtain citizenship until after ten years.”
It is acknowledged that marriage to other nationalities is a personal decision that no party has the right to object or prevent it, as long as it is in accordance with the laws and regulations that control it. However, the high rate of mixed marriage may herald a phenomenon that should be analyzed to determine the rates of increase, and whether this form of marriage poses a threat to the legal and social protection of women in Yemen.
Since the year 2000, the so-called tourist marriage of Yemeni girls to Gulf men has spread, with Ibb Governorate taking first place for this type of marriage. This is what prompted the Yemeni legislator to set conditions and provisions for the marriage of Yemeni women to non-Yemenis, while Yemen recorded a noticeable upsurge in the rate of Yemeni women marrying foreigners during the past years. The “Arabian Gulf” occupied the forefront of “in-laws” for Yemen.
Moreover, statistics issued by the Yemeni Ministry of Justice in Aden, reviewed by Khuyut, show that marriage approvals for foreigners with Yemeni women reached about 4,680 cases last year, with an average number of approvals reaching fifteen cases per day. It was also found that most of the “in-laws” to Yemen, according to statistics, were from the Sultanate of Oman.
On the other hand, the Director of the Documentation Department at the Yemeni Ministry of Justice in Sana’a, Ahmed Al-Qablani, told Khuyut that the procedures for this type of marriage have decreased significantly in Sana’a, as the Documentation Department recorded, during the past three years, approximately 203 approvals for females, most of them Yemeni women, married to non-Yemenis residing in Yemeni.
Yemeni law and mixed marriage
Mixed marriage is a form of marriage in which couples are of different nationalities, ethnicities, or religions. It is noted that the Yemeni law did not provide a specific definition. However, the legislator outlined in Chapter Three of the Yemeni Law No. (6) of 1990 and its amendments for the year 2003, and specified the procedures and official approvals in the event of a Yemeni woman or man marrying a non-Yemeni or vice versa.
Radhia Al-Mutawakel, Chairwoman of Mwatana Organization for Human Rights, said in a statement to Khuyut that the Yemeni Constitution stipulates the principle of equality, but there are many discriminatory legal articles against women, especially within the Personal Status Law.
Before the outbreak of conflict in Yemen in 2014, civil society organizations, and even some government institutions, such as the Women National Committee, were striving to highlight discriminatory laws against women and push for its amendment. But the war abolished all these efforts, especially in view of the almost full collapse of the state, and the various armed groups took control of Yemen from Sa'ada to Socotra.
Al-Mutawakel added: “Rather, the war amplified the pressure and discrimination against women by depriving them of even their rights guaranteed in the Yemeni constitution and law, such as the right to movement, as the various parties, especially the Ansar Allah group (the Houthis), introduced discriminatory measures that impose on women the consent or presence of a mahram during movement which is considered a faultless violation of the Constitution and the law.”
By defining mixed marriage, we are faced with several forms of marriages, in terms of the religion, culture, or nationality of the other party in the marital relationship. Marriage may take place between different religions, such as a Muslim man marrying a non-Muslim woman, but this type of marriage does not apply to a “Muslim” woman. Because Sharia law does not allow her to marry a non-Muslim unless he converts to Islam.
As for the other form of marriage, it is marriage from other cultures or nationalities, as it is based on the difference of nationalities between the two parties to the marital relationship. This can be case when a Yemeni woman marries a foreign man with a non-Yemeni nationality, and from another culture that is not similar to the culture in Yemen.
Professor of Private International Law at Sana'a University, Fouad Al-Odaini, told Khuyut that: "The Yemeni legislator has marginalized women, their rights, and their children, as in Article No. (4) of Paragraph (A), where it states: “It is permissible, by a presidential decision based on the minister’s proposal, to grant Yemeni citizenship in any of the following cases: A - A - Whoever was born abroad to a mother who held this nationality and a father of unknown or stateless nationality, provided that he had made his regular, legal residence in Yemen for at least ten consecutive years, prior to reaching the age of adulthood while his choice of Yemeni nationality must have been submitted within one year from the date of reaching the age of maturity."
It is acknowledged that marriage to other nationalities is a personal decision that no party has the right to object or prevent it, as long as it is in accordance with the laws and regulations that control it. However, the high rate of mixed marriage may herald a phenomenon that should be analyzed to determine the rates of increase, and whether this form of marriage poses a threat to the legal and social protection of women in Yemen, and their children resulting from that marriage, and in terms of the availability of all rights or not, or has this type of marriage become just a means of escaping from the difficult reality that society lives in without caring about the consequences.
Therefore, Yemeni law sought to set prerequisites for the marriage of a Yemeni woman to a foreigner, which are: “approval from the Ministry of Interior and Foreign Affairs in Yemen, a copy of the passport, a certificate of good conduct from the foreigner’s country, a health certificate, a photograph, an authenticated work certificate, and a residence card from the country in which he resides.” If he is in a country other than his country, a certificate of celibacy (or a certificate of the first wife’s consent to marry the second, authenticated by Yemen or the embassy in his place of residence - or a divorce certificate), a birth certificate, a nationality certificate, and payment of the prescribed fees.”
However, there are many who believe that these are obstacles, such as Maryam Al-Yafei, who confirmed to “Khuyut” that the Yemeni legislator has placed countless obstacles in front of Yemeni women. She said: “For four years, we have been following up in the Ministry of the Interior to obtain approval for my marriage to a young Jordanian individual residing in Britain".
Al-Odaini added: “Although this article was amended by a presidential decree in 2010, so that Article (3) of it now stipulates that: Anyone born to a father or mother, either of whom enjoys Yemeni nationality inside or outside the republic of Yemen, shall enjoy Yemeni nationality.” Al-Odaini considers it a good transition for the children of the Yemeni mother to have the right to citizenship, just like the Yemeni father.
Rights granted to Yemeni children of a non-Yemeni father
But what is strange about the law - according to the law professor at Sana’a University - is that it left the right to exclusive territory as a basis for acquiring Yemeni nationality from birth, which raises an important question: When is relying on blood rights on the father’s or mother’s side an original means? While the legislator kept paragraph (b) of Article (3), which undermines the amendment by Resolution No. (25), in addition to the fact that the law amended in 2010 has not yet entered into force.
Al-Odaini believes it is necessary to amend the aforementioned article, so that it becomes as follows: “Yemeni nationality shall be enjoyed by everyone born to a father or mother who holds Yemeni nationality, whether born inside or outside Yemen.” The first paragraph of Article (4) of Law No. (6) of 1990 regarding Yemeni nationality must also be cancelled.
In the same context, the social specialist, Eman Al-Ahdal, told Khuyut: “The problem is not that the Yemeni woman marries a foreigner. Rather, the problem is the harm that may befall the children resulted from this marriage. The children will be lost between two societies, and they do not belong to either Yemen or the foreign country.” In addition, the laws also differ in terms of child custody or divorce, as well as inheritance.” She said.
As for lawyer Abdullah Amer, he believes that the issue of acquiring Yemeni nationality, according to the Yemeni nationality law, was subject to strict and unfair conditions with regard to the issue of the children of a foreigner from a mother who holds Yemeni nationality and a father of unknown nationality, or who has no nationality. This is clear when it is stipulated that the child must have made his regular, legal residence in Yemen, for a period of at least ten consecutive years, prior to reaching the age of adulthood, and on the condition that the application be submitted within a year of reaching the age of maturity, and that - according to Amer’s statement to “Khuyut” - This is due to the difficulty of fulfilling the period requirement due to its length, the requirement that it be consecutive, and that there should not be any interruption, even if it is necessary to travel and return.
This is similar to house arrest, although most countries require five years as a maximum, and allow departure for specific periods without interrupting the period, while the other matter relates to the issue of restricting the submission of an application for citizenship within a year of adolescence and the statute of limitations after that, and this is an unfair condition. This is also an unfair condition because it does not take into consideration compelling circumstances and exceptional cases.
On the other hand, there are those who believe that the step taken by amending the law, according to which women are granted the absolute right on the basis of equality with men, to pass on their nationality to their children, is insufficient, even though it is a first step in recognizing equal citizenship.
In fact, the marriages of Yemeni women to foreigners are more dominated by the financial aspect, and its success rate is very low and continuity is not guaranteed because many foreigners marry for fun and for a short period, and not for stability or because the Yemeni girl is distinguished from others. He added: “As for the reasons for this difference, it is because many Yemenis who marry foreign women are either residing abroad, students, businessmen moving between countries, or permanent travelers to some countries.”
On the other hand, the social specialist, Mohammad Al-Mudhaffar, addresses the issue of marrying Yemeni women to Gulf men, and considers it a crime against the girls of Yemen. There is disdain and contempt for her, and the laws do not do justice to her as she is a foreigner. It is sad that no civic organizations or lawyers intervene, and the family cannot bring their daughter back home. In clearer terms, according to Al-Muzaffar: “The Gulf husband is a coffin.”
The shocking laws and social view of these marriages
The percentage of Yemeni women married to foreigners has increased significantly in recent years, and it is no longer limited to marriage to Saudi and other Gulf nationalities as in the past. There are Yemeni women married to Egyptians, Syrians, Lebanese, Iraqis, Jordanians, and non-Arab nationalities. American, European, and even African from Somalia and Ethiopia.
There are well-known cases of Yemenis marrying non-Yemeni women, such as the recent story about a young Yemeni man who was born in Saudi Arabia to an Egyptian mother, so his father abandoned him, as he spoke to Egyptian media outlets, and he remained suspended for a period in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia without documents that would enable him to enroll in education or grant him a document and personal identity. When he returned to Yemen to prove his Yemeni identity, he collided with the applicable laws, so he had no choice but to go to the Arab Republic of Egypt, the country to which his mother belongs, and there, after great effort, he obtained the Egyptian identity.
Mrs. Iftikar Al-Mikhlafi, professor of comparative law at Sanaa University, told Khuyut: “I do not think there is any shame in a Yemeni woman marrying a non-Yemeni “Muslim” husband. What is important is loyalty and compassion, and this is a legitimate right for every Yemeni woman, and there are friends and women I know who have married foreigners. They live in harmony and stability, and their children obtained Yemeni citizenship.”
In fact, it depends on the nature of marriage itself, in terms of the issue of disparity related to awareness, race, or custom and tradition. The social environment that is close in terms of customs, traditions and customs, as well as the nature of the composition of the family itself (the spouses’ family), their level of awareness and the nature of their structure, are appropriate factors that help in the permanence and continuity of marriage. However, if inequality prevails, the failure and end of marriage will be inevitable, according to a sociologist.
While the legal advisor, Afraa Hariri, explains that marrying a foreigner is a personal right for any Yemeni woman, and the most important thing is for the girl to be aware of her decision and choice, and the risks that it entails.
Concerns and solutions
The young woman, Abeer (26 years old), expressed her fears of marrying a foreigner, in view of the many stories and experiences that are clearly visible to her, such as her neighbor who married a Jordanian who was working in Yemen, and after a year of marriage, she became pregnant, which led him to disappear, so that her child came to life and has not seen his father.
While Afrah, a nurse married to an Iraqi, disagrees with her, as she believes that a foreigner appreciates and respects women, unlike a Yemeni who wants the wife to be like a slave who provides him food and bears him children, and when she gets old or gets tired of her, he marries someone else.
In the context, there are many who believe that the step taken by amending the law, according to which women are granted the absolute right on the basis of equality with men, to pass on their nationality to their children, is insufficient, even though it is a first step in recognizing equal citizenship.
Maha Awadh, Director of the Wejood Foundation for Human Safety, explained to Khuyut that this legal amendment is not consistent with the continuation of other discriminatory conditions within the law itself, including what is stated in Article (4) Paragraph (A), in addition to other articles; This requires exerting more efforts within a broad advocacy campaign that includes empowering women with the legal right to pass on their nationality to their children, as well as demanding the removal of discrimination against women in the nationality law.
At a time when the National Committee for Women is waiting for the currently suspended House of Representatives to return to function to be able to amend all discriminatory laws against women, there is no way for Yemeni women other than struggling and fighting through intense campaigns to change the law, appeal to the relevant authorities, and knock on all available doors to update the laws as well as changing the laws that is unconstitutional or violate Article (41) of the Yemeni Constitution.
