Specialists have monitored three reasons that they described as “flimsy” behind the marriage of citizens to foreign women, most notably the high costs of marriage, the high cost of dowries, and the interest between the spouses, stressing that these are unreal allegations that lead to many subsequent problems.
They stressed that the continued increase in the number of cases of marriage of citizens to foreign women, under the pretext of the high costs of marriage and the high price of dowries, is only a justification that society will pay for later, due to the resulting effects and alien customs that negatively affect the identity of society, especially if the foreign wife is the first wife. They called for the necessity of setting requirements. One important step in allowing a citizen to marry foreign women is the necessity of educating the bride about national culture and identity, in addition to being fluent in the Emirati dialect.
Recent federal statistics, recorded in four emirates in the country from the beginning of last year until last August, revealed 337 cases of marriage between citizens and non-citizens.
In detail, Sabreen Hassan Al-Yammahi, a member of the Federal National Council and former social worker in the Family Guidance Department at the Dibba Al-Fujairah Court, said that the tendency of young men to marry foreign women, claiming that the cost of marrying citizen women and the increase in dowries, is increasing, is unreal, especially in light of the repercussions of the “Covid-19” pandemic. The precautionary measures taken by the government to ensure control of this epidemic, including closing marriage halls and abandoning ostentation, and the expenses that were spent to complete the marriage ceremony, are all… I worked to reduce wedding expenses.
Al Yamahi stressed the need for state institutions to join forces by providing training programs and workshops that mimic what the Marriage Fund provides, in terms of programs that are specialized in educating the foreign wife and introducing her to Emirati culture and identity, given the importance of her role in consolidating values and culture in her children, in addition to the necessity of providing educational programs that enable the foreign wife to learn The Emirati dialect, to protect the dialect from any distortion that may affect it over time for future generations or mixing it with foreign foreign words due to the mother’s foreign nationality. She explained that “many children have a mixed dialect as a result of their non-citizen mother not speaking the dialect properly.”
She called for the transparency of statistics issued by government agencies such as the Ministry of Justice and Social Development, which must clarify the negatives and problems facing families in which the wife is a non-citizen, stressing that young people about to marry non-citizens are looking to reduce expenses by marrying a foreigner without paying attention to the problems that arise. You may face them later, especially if marital life reaches a dead end and ends in divorce, as the children will bear the consequences of this marriage.
This opinion was supported by lawyer Counselor Rashid Al-Hafiti, saying that there are successful marriage stories in which the wife was a non-citizen, and it cannot be said with certainty that marriage to a non-citizen is a negative matter or prohibited for young men who want it, and there are also many cases of marriage to a woman of a foreign or Arab culture that had a negative impact. On the children, especially since the young man, after a period of marriage, refuses to raise his children in a foreign style and finds it incorrect, as a result of the mother instilling customs alien to Emirati society in her children who speak the language and culture of their mother. Fluently, while their Emirati dialect remains weak.
He pointed out that the large number of marriages to foreign women will bring about a change in the vocabulary of the Emirati dialect and create a gap between grandparents and children, and will lead to difficulty communicating between them, pointing out that there is a real gap in some families between grandparents and their grandchildren, and communication between them is almost non-existent due to the difference in culture and language of the grandchildren, because they enjoy customs. And foreign cultures that may be rejected in Emirati society.
Al-Hafiti stressed that the continuation of marriage to non-citizens is due to young people’s encouragement of each other due to the high costs of weddings and the excessive dowries, especially if it is his second marriage, in addition to the existing interest in marriage if the young man is a partner in a business with a foreigner or is from the category of people of determination that often face Problems in marrying female citizens, noting that the percentage of female citizens who are over 30 years old without marriage is unsatisfactory, stressing that the female citizen is the most capable of being a custodial mother for her children. Raising them on Emirati values and ancient heritage, instead of marrying non-citizens.
For her part, Counselor Lawyer Fatima Al Ali confirmed that the impact of divorce and its problems in families when the wife is a citizen is much less than that of a foreign wife, indicating that when the citizen wife decides to separate, she will accompany her children and return to live within the confines of her family, which carries the same customs and language as the father, which will be established by the grandfather. And novelty in the souls of grandchildren.
She added that the foreign divorced woman will raise the children and establish them in another culture and heritage that does not belong to the state, which causes the loss of their identity in light of their direct mixing with the foreign mother’s family and the establishment of her customs among them, which increases the cultural gap between the children and their peers in schools and elsewhere.
She pointed out that the impact of marriage to a non-citizen appears in the long term, as new customs are introduced that were not allowed in society.
Al Ali pointed out that when a son from a non-citizen wife grows up, has a suitable job and a good income, and proposes to marry the girl of his dreams, he may be rejected by some families who refuse to marry their daughters to a man with a foreign mother.
Disadvantages of marrying foreign women
The Family and Social Affairs Department of a court in the Eastern Province, Amal Ahmed Al-Omani, said that non-citizen wives are a problem that creates many negatives in society, if young men consider that their marriage to a foreign woman reduces the financial cost, or because there is an interest between the spouses such as a partnership in work, or being among people of determination. And she needs constant care or to be a second wife, noting that these allegations are completely incorrect, as marrying from abroad is no less expensive than marrying a citizen.
She pointed out that there are different effects resulting from marriage to foreign women that appear after a period of engagement, pointing out that some foreign wives require a private residence, while the female citizen is satisfied to live with his family without objection, and the citizen husband is obliged to send the wife annually to visit her family. It requires costs and directly affects the children’s language and culture. The wife also requests to bring her family, whether for an outing or a visit, and this is what costs the husband additional financial burdens. On the contrary, if the Married to a female citizen, in addition to husbands sending sums of money to help their wives’ families.
Preserving national identity
Member of the Federal National Council, former social specialist in the Family Guidance Department at the Dibba Al-Fujairah Court, Sabreen Hassan Al-Yamahi, confirmed that the citizen wife is highly educated and does not lack beauty, literature, or morals, and the excuse of large expenses and excessive dowries is incorrect, because most citizen women Female employees in government and federal institutions and private companies who do not lack the means to support the husband financially.
She called on young men who wish to marry foreign women to bear responsibility towards their homeland and their national identity, and to preserve it and inculcate it in their children, by making the best choice for the mother. Even if she is a citizen, he must choose someone with whom he will share this national responsibility. Young people should not take the excuse of the high costs of marrying citizen women and place it as a real obstacle to them. There is Many young people borrow from banks to buy the best vehicles worth up to 200 thousand dirhams and more, and then use financial reasons to refrain from doing so. About marriage to female citizens.
337
Case of marriage of citizens to non-citizens in 4 emirates within 8 months.
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