http://news.kuwaittimes.net/2013/01/22/marriages-with-expats/
Marriages with Expats Labeed Abdal An announcement which took everyone by surprise said foreign women who married Kuwaiti men after January 2010 will need the approval of a special committee to be able to live in Kuwait. This comes at a time when the Interior Ministry has stopped stamping residence permits of the foreign wives of Kuwaiti nationals whose marriage took place after that date. I think the issue has become complex and selfcontradictory to a certain extent since it is the Kuwaiti men who decided to marry non-Kuwaiti wives, not the other way around. Also, marriage is a very individual and personal decision of two people, not one. On the one hand, the constitution of Kuwait affirms in Article 9 that “The family is the cornerstone of society. It is founded on religion, morality and patriotism. Law shall preserve the integrity of the family, strengthen its ties, and protect under its support motherhood and childhood.” In Article 29 para 2, it mentions that “Personal liberty is guaranteed.” In the light of these constitutional provisions, such an administrative move is equivalent to violation of these pillars of the constitution. On the other hand, I strongly believe that it is a social issue and should be left for the parties involved to decide. This committee might ruin the seeds of potential new families and actually restrict a Kuwaiti husband’s choice by raking up the issue of residency rights of the expat wife. Social centers and committees can study the issue thoroughly and come up with reasonable solutions to deal with marriages with expats instead of following the option of restrictions and denying the human rights of people involved. By all means, Kuwaiti men and women must be given the freedom of choice and liberty to avail of all legal alternatives and the reasonable choices, and should be free to marry anyone in Kuwait or Timbuktu. By Labeed Abdal [email protected] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
