UAE family matters: One uncle accepts marriage proposal, one doesn’t. What can I do?

Woman whose father died is in a quandry about whether she can marry or not, while a reader asks if she can still claim financial support from her husband even though she makes more money than him

I am an Arab Muslim woman whose father passed away a few years back. I work and take care of myself and, recently, a colleague at work said he wanted to marry me. I’ve been told that I need the acceptance of an uncle though. One of my uncles refused but another was accepting of the proposal. Can I request that my uncle who is accepting represent me in concluding the marriage or do I need the consent of both of my guardians to be able to marry?

Article 33 of law 28 of 2005, called the Personal Status Law, states that the guardian of a daughter is the father and he is the one who can sanction a marriage. However, if he is not alive, then it defers to any adult son you may have from a previous relationship. If you don’t have an adult son, then it should be your brother. And if you do not have any of the above, then you have the discretionary power to choose any of your uncles to represent you to conclude your marriage. So you would be able to just approach the accepting uncle to be the guardian representing you at your marriage ceremony, regardless the other uncle’s unwillingness, as long as you do not have a son or brother who would take priority.

I am a working wife, a non-Muslim, Asian woman who is married to an Arab Muslim man. I have a regular income that is higher than that of my husband and I wondered if I have the right to request to court that my husband financially supports me, even if his income is less than mine?

In accordance with article 66 of law number 28 of 2005, your husband has to financially support you, even if your income is higher than his, as long as you did not refuse to live with him in the family home. The fact that you have a different religion does not affect this right of yours.

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