An Emirati woman married to a non-Emirati Arab told me recently about the struggles her four children have been having to fit into society.
During their childhood, her children had faced the difficult question of identity, about who they really are and to what country they really belonged.
Despite the different nationality written in their passports, they still viewed themselves as Emiratis. They have lived their whole lives in the UAE. They dress like UAE nationals, speak in an Emirati accent, follow local traditions and hang out with Emiratis.
When they were at school, they would only write their mother’s last name on their textbooks. They would avoid talking about their father’s nationality for fear of rejection. Sometimes they would even lie to their friends to preserve the image they had created and wished to maintain to the outside world.
They concealed their “real” nationalities even from their friends, who have always known them as Emiratis. But their social circle has narrowed as they have grown up, isolating them from wider society, in an attempt to protect them from being hurt by a feeling of inferiority or a comment about their “real” nationality.
In the UAE, a 2011 Presidential decree granted children of Emirati women married to non-nationals the right to apply for citizenship after reaching the age of 18.
Applications have to go through three entities for approval: the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, State Security and, finally, the naturalisation and residency department at the Ministry of Interior. At the end of last year, 500 children of Emirati mothers were granted citizenship, according to Wam, the state news agency.
However, there are still those who are waiting to be naturalised, and there is, according to one mother I spoke to, no clear mechanism to determine the outcome of each case.
She told me how she and her family had put their lives on hold and had waited years for citizenship for her children.
Three of her children are now twentysomething men who have finished their education but find themselves unemployed and dependent on their parents for financial support. Their hope of getting citizenship has, they say, stopped them from living their lives properly, from working and even getting married and starting their own families.
“Is it their fault to be treated differently just because their father isn’t Emirati,” their mother asked.
At the beginning of this month, a decree by Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah, granted children of Emirati mothers and foreign fathers equal pay and benefits in government jobs in the emirate, as well as reviews to get new grades and new job titles. The decision also entitled them access to more benefits, such as allocated land and housing, scholarships and medical care.
This is a positive step in improving the situation of these children and I would argue that it should be extended to the other emirates. Benefits such as education, employment and social benefits will undoubtedly improve the conditions of many and help them to navigate their way through life.
But I believe that there is still a need to make an amendment to the system to ease the process of granting children of Emirati women full citizenship as soon as they reach adulthood.
An adjustment could be made to extend the system to entitle any children of an Emirati mother to citizenship at birth.
There has been a rise in the number of Emirati women marrying foreigners in recent years. According to figures published by the National Bureau of Statistics in 2011, the numbers of cases increased 15 per cent from 643 to 737 in the period between 2009 and 2010. More than likely, the numbers have followed a similar pattern since, as Emirati society continues to open up.
Amending the nationality law would not only empower women but it would also push social welfare forward.
aalmazrouei@thenational.ae
On Twitter: @AyeshaAlmazroui
