It is well knownthat the Kuwaiti nationality law has defined the terms and regulations ofgranting Kuwaiti nationality. This matter is under the discretion of theministry of interior as a security authority in the state. This issue hasseveral facets, from legal to humane, and I would like to take up the matter asa Kuwaiti citizen. It seems that most of the talk is always about the childrenof the Kuwaiti man who gets married to a non-Kuwaiti, but little is mentionedabout this non-Kuwaiti woman and her rights as a wife, or the potentialcomplications that such marriages may face.
This issue hasalways been argumentative between supporters and opponents and the conditionsrelated to naturalization of this woman in case she wants to get Kuwaitinationality. Some of the conditions in the law are known to all - the firstrequirement for obtaining Kuwaiti nationality is that the person must be bornin Kuwait or abroad to a Kuwaiti father. So obtaining Kuwaiti nationality willbe a normal matter through official channels. This applies to all childrenregardless of the number of wives or their nationalities.
Other conditionsfor getting Kuwaiti citizenship include providing the country with great andexceptional services. There are other conditions too, but I don't want to dwellon them today because I would like to focus on the naturalization ofnon-Kuwaiti women who marry Kuwaitis. I am not against the marriage of anyKuwaiti man to a non-Kuwaiti woman, as it is a private decision. But I hope anyman who wants to marry a non-Kuwaiti explains to her the situation - good orbad - especially in case of divorce or death or separation, because franknessand honesty is needed to protect her rights as a human and a wife, if not amother.
Article 8 of thenationality law stipulates that the marriage of a foreign woman to a Kuwaitiwill not allow her to become Kuwaiti unless she declares to interior ministerher desire to obtain nationality. This condition requires that they continuetheir marriage for at least five years from the date of declaring their desireto obtain citizenship.
For years, it wasnecessary to submit a request to declare the desire as a condition for the wifeto obtain Kuwaiti nationality and a period of five years of marriage. Aproposal was raised by the National Assembly aimed at canceling the declarationof the desire as a condition for the wife to get Kuwaiti nationality. But Ithink the desire of the wife is a must - maybe she has no interest.
The governmentallows a Kuwaiti husband to naturalize his foreign wife after five years ofmarriage, while the old time limit for Kuwaiti citizenship was 20 years. Ithink this matter was an issue between supporters and opponents for many years.I see that the decision to marry any national is personal, but a man is obligedto take care of his wife and protect her legal status in the country,especially in the case of having children, because after all she is the mother.Kids will always need their mother regardless of her nationality, their age orstatus of marriage.
There is anothermatter issue - polygamy. Parliamentary proposals on the humanitarian aspectfocused on allowing Kuwaitis to naturalize more than one wife in case of havingmultiple wives. However, the response of the interior ministry to theseproposals confirmed its rejection out of concern of exploitation by men who maymisuse this to naturalize foreign women for money, as well as the impact on themarriage rates of Kuwaiti women.
Some who are againstmixed marriage rely on their views about some cases of women who marriedcitizens, and when they got Kuwaiti nationality, forced them to divorce andleave the children. Some of these wives had children from former spouses, sothey brought them to Kuwait to live under their sponsorship, while somereturned to their former husbands and brought them to Kuwait. I think thesecases are possible scenarios, but not for everyone.
I thinknaturalization of a foreign wife should depend on the time period and theconsent of the competent security authorities, as well as her personal desireand consent. She can choose between her original nationality and thenationality of the husband. I believe that a non-citizen woman who has spentmany years in the care of her husband and has children must have full legalprotection to ensure her stay in the country in all cases, even divorce ordeath of the spouse.
By Muna Al-Fuzai
muna@kuwaittimes.net