'Give our children right to identity'.

Byline: REBECCA TORR

A SEVEN-year campaign to win nationality for the children of Bahraini women married to foreign nationals will be taken to the public this week.

The Bahrain Women's Association for Human Development has organised the drive, under the slogan My Nationality is My Right and that of My Children.

It is demanding that Bahraini women be able to extend their nationality to their children - regardless of their husbands' nationality.

The children of these mothers are deprived of housing services, political participation, scholarships to universities and employment opportunities, association vice-president Dr Wajeeha Al Baharna told the GDN.

They are also forced to renew their residency visas every two years, creating an added cost, and many also suffer psychological effects because although they grew up thinking of themselves as Bahrainis they have no rights to be Bahraini, she said.

"Children may discover this for the first time when they attend sc-hool and this can affect th-em psychologically," said Dr Al Baharna.

"In 90 per cent of the cases, mothers feel really gu-ilty because they married a non-Bahraini.

"But the majority of them didn't know these consequences when they got married, but even so it is freedom of choice."

Dr Al Baharna claimed that many of the children were entitled to Bahraini nationality having lived in the country for a number of years - three years for GCC nationals, 15 years for Arab nationals and 25 years for non-Arabs.

"Some have been here for 25 years and are GCC nationals and they still haven't got the nationality," she said.

"There is something wrong with the system.

"Most comply with these conditions, but there is a bias in getting the nationality.

"We are seeing tens of tho-usands of people getting the passport without being here even a year - this is political naturalisation."

According to 2005 figures, 1,728 children were seeking the nationality of their Bahraini mothers and Dr Al Baharna said that the existing law governing the children of Bahraini mothers was against Bahrain's constitution.

She said according to Article 18, every citizen had the same rights regardless of sex, race and religion.

"Women should have had the same rights as men a long time ago," she said.

"Many times we have been lobbying parliament in 2002 and 20-06.

"They say they will support us but nothing has happened exc-ept for some special procedures such as exempting th-em (children) from education and health fees."

The association will highlight the plight of children of Bahraini women married to foreign nationals at the Bahrain Mall on Tuesday from 5pm to 7pm.

At the event, children affected will draw pictures to illustrate their suffering and the association and families afflicted by the issue will speak to members of the public about their problems.

MP Jalal Fairooz said the question of giving children of Bahraini women married to foreign nationals Ba-hraini nationality was an im-portant issue that had been raised by parliament twice.

He said that a proposal to am-end the law on naturalisation had been for-med by pa-rliament's foreign affairs and national security committee.

"We have some views on this, if the children hold the nationality of the father then it is not possible to have the nationality," said Mr Fair-ooz.

"But if the children are living in Bahrain with the mother and she is divorced then this is where the law can be amended.

"We have this on the agenda and it must be discussed starting in October."

Mr Fairooz said in the region children were granted the father's nationality and not the mother's and the committee was currently studying the pros and cons of whether children of mothers separated or divorced could be entitled to the Bahraini nationality.

"I know quite a few families and children that are suffering and are not allowed to join Bahrain University just because their father is not Bahraini," he said.

"We are trying to figure out some way we can solve these people's problems but at the same time still uphold the interests of the country."

Under Bahrain's current laws, non-Bahraini husbands of Bahraini women are not given special citizenship privileges and their children are not automatically granted nationality.

However, the children of Bahraini men who marry non-Bahraini women are automatically granted full Bahraini citizenship.

Their wives are also allowed to apply for citizenship rights sooner than they would normally be able to.

Apeals

As adults, children of non-Bahraini fathers do not have legal permission to vote or take part in political life and cannot take employment without getting a permit.

In the past, Bahraini women affected by the law have individually been making personal appeals to government officials in a bid to have their children's rights recognised, but to no avail.

[e-mail]

Copyright 2009 Gulf Daily News

Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company