By MOHAMMED AL A’ALI

MANAMA

CHILDREN of Bahraini women married to expatriates could soon be given the same rights as their counterparts of Bahraini parents.

The Shura Council yesterday decided to include a new article in a government-drafted law that gives expatriate wives married to Bahrainis equal treatment.

However, parliament must first agree with the amendment before the proposal is given the go-ahead, since an earlier bill without the clause was approved by MPs in December.

It mainly allowed expatriate wives married to Bahrainis similar rights.

However, if the new amendment is approved, Bahraini wives with expatriate husbands will also be included. The amendment stipulates, however, that the children of Bahraini women will have to be permanent residents in order to benefit from equal rights.

The bill was referred back to the council’s women and child committee last month to turn the additional proposal into a proper article that could be incorporated without creating any ambiguity to the original law. It allows expatriate wives the same treatment as their Bahraini counterparts in services such as government fees, education, health and an exemption from residency visa requirements.

Committee chairman Dalal Al Zayed said that the bill was something that many Bahrainis were waiting for.

“The current conditions are in breach of international human rights agreements Bahrain had signed, considering that Bahrainis have the right to marry whoever they like without being made to pay a penalty for choosing to marry a non-Bahraini,” she said.

“When we discussed the proposal with the Supreme Council for Women and the Bahrain Women Federation, they noted that Bahraini women married to non-Bahrainis were suffering more problems than those married to Bahrainis,” said Ms Al Zayed.

“She has to pay for her children’s residency, their education and health services, while widows or divorced women face more financial burden.

“There are 1,633 Bahraini women married to non-Bahrainis with a total of 2,662 children.