Study faults Kuwait citizenship law – Women face discrimination

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KUWAIT CITY, Jan 25, (Thomson Reuters Foundation): Kuwait is one of many countries whose citizenship laws were found to be sexist in a study conducted recently by Equality Now. Equality Now is an international human rights organization dedicated to action for the civil, political, economic and social rights of girls and women. It carried out the study in collaboration with Trustlaw — a division of the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Results of the research showed that more than a quarter of the world’s nations have sexist laws on nationality, such as stripping women of citizenship if they marry a foreigner, that can deprive women of access to jobs, education and other benefits available to men. The study enumerated a number of discriminatory stipulations in Kuwait’s Nationality Law, which was ratified in 1959, as follows:

■ Unmarried mother cannot pass to child born in or outside the country on an equal basis with unmarried father (not by right, but possible decree issued by the Minister of Interior if father unknown or not legally established) Article Two: Any person born in or outside Kuwait whose father is a Kuwaiti national shall be a Kuwaiti national.

Article Three: Kuwaiti nationality may be granted by Decree upon the recommendation of the Minister of Interior to any person (upon attaining age of majority) who was born in or outside Kuwait to a Kuwaiti mother whose father is unknown or whose kinship to his father has not been legally established. The Minister of Interior may afford to such children, being minors, the same treatment as that afforded to Kuwaiti nationals until they reach the age of majority.

■ Married mother cannot pass to child born in country on an equal basis with married father (unless mother irrevocably divorced/ foreign father deceased and child resident in Kuwait until reaches age of majority)

Article Five: Notwithstanding the provisions of the immediately preceding Article, the following may be granted Kuwaiti nationality by Decree, upon the recommendation of the Minister of Interior: Any person (upon attaining the age of majority) who was born to a Kuwaiti mother and who has maintained his residence in Kuwait until reaching the age of majority and whose foreign father irrevocably divorced his mother or died. The Minister of Interior may afford to such children, being minors, the same treatment as that afforded to Kuwaiti nationals in all respects until they reach the age of majority.

■ Married mother cannot pass to child born outside the country on an equal basis with married father.

■ Article Two: Any person born in or outside Kuwait whose father is a Kuwaiti national shall be a Kuwaiti national.

■ Article Three: Kuwaiti nationality may be granted by Decree upon the recommendation of the Minister of Interior to any person [upon attaining age of majority] who was born in or outside Kuwait to a Kuwaiti mother whose father is unknown or whose kinship to his father has not been legally established. The Minister of Interior may afford to such children, being minors, the same treatment as that afforded to Kuwaiti nationals until they reach the age of majority.

■ Married woman cannot pass to foreign spouse on an equal basis with married man. Article Eight: Kuwaiti nationality may be granted by Decree upon the recommendation of the Minister of Interior to a foreign woman who marries a Kuwaiti national provided that she declares her wish to acquire Kuwaiti nationality and that the marriage shall have lasted for at least 15 years from the date of her declaration. All or part of the above requirement as to time may be waived upon the recommendation of the Minister of Interior.

■ If a father’s nationality changes, his children may cease to be citizens without consideration of the mother’s nationality. Article 11: A Kuwaiti national shall lose his Kuwaiti nationality if he becomes voluntarily naturalized according to the law of another State. His wife, being a Kuwaiti national, shall not lose her Kuwaiti nationality by virtue of her husband’s naturalization unless she voluntarily acquires the nationality of her husband. His children, being minors, shall also lose their Kuwaiti nationality if they themselves acquire ipso facto the nationality of the State according to the law of which their father has become naturalized if that law so provides. Such children shall reacquire Kuwaiti nationality upon informing the Minister of Interior within two years, following their attaining the age of majority, of their wish to do so. Meanwhile, following are the discriminatory provisions in the citizenship laws of other GCC and Arab countries cited by the study:

■ Unmarried mother cannot pass to child born in country on an equal basis with unmarried father — Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia and Syrian Arab Republic

■ Unmarried mother cannot pass to child born outside country on an equal basis with unmarried father — Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia and Syrian Arab Republic

■ Married mother cannot pass to child born in country on an equal basis with married father — Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia and Syrian Arab Republic

■ Married mother cannot pass to child born outside country on an equal basis with married father — Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Tunisia and Syrian Arab Republic

■ Naturalized mother cannot pass to children on an equal basis with naturalized father — Yemen

■ Foreign mother who was born in country cannot pass to child born in country on an equal basis with foreign father who was born in country — Iraq

■ If father’s nationality changes, his children may cease to be citizens without consideration of the mother’s nationality — Bahrain, Oman, Egypt, Iraq and Sudan

■ Married woman cannot pass to foreign spouse on an equal basis with married man — Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Comoros, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Somalia, Sudan and Syrian Arab Republic

■ Married man cannot pass to foreign spouse on an equal basis with married woman — Tunisia

■ Woman who has lost her nationality of origin through marriage cannot regain it on the termination of marriage — Egypt and Iraq

■ Foreign woman who takes spouse’s nationality automatically loses it upon termination of marriage — Bahrain, Tunisia and Yemen

■ Woman automatically loses nationality of origin upon marrying spouse of another nationality — Iran and Yemen

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