Manama: Bahraini mothers will be able to pass on their nationality to their children under a parliamentary proposal to amend the Citizenship Law.
Under the proposal to be debated on Tuesday by the Council of Representatives, the lower chamber of the bicameral parliament, Paragraph “a” of Article Four of the 1963 law should be amended to give Bahraini women this right.
The paragraph currently states that “Anyone shall be regarded a Bahraini national, if he was born in Bahrain after the effective date of this act and his father was a Bahraini at the time of birth.”
The proposal seeks to amend it into “Anyone shall be regarded a Bahraini national, if he was born in Bahrain or abroad and either of his parents was a Bahraini at the time of birth.”
The Supreme Council for Women, (SCW), a staunch campaigner of women empowerment, and several women’s rights activists have been pushing for elevating the status of women in the country by granting them the right to pass on their citizenship to their children.
In December 2011, King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa granted the Bahraini nationality to 335 people born to Bahraini mothers and foreign fathers.
“We do hope that such official efforts will result in amending the Citizenship Law in accordance with objective regulations and criteria and will contribute to achieving security and stability for Bahraini women and families,” the SWC, chaired by Princess Sabeeka Bint Ebrahim Al Khalifa, said.
In 2006, King Hamad granted the Bahraini nationality to 273 children born to Bahraini mothers and foreign fathers.
In 2009, he ordered that non-Bahraini wives of Bahraini nationals and children born to Bahraini mothers and foreign fathers be treated on equal footing with citizens and be exempted from paying government fees for health and education services. They were also exempted from fees related to residence permits.
