UAE Nationals Marriage to Foreign Ladies - Coursework Example

1. Introduction Mixed marriages have become common in most countries and in most societies. However, mixed marriages between the UAE men and foreignwomen have gone beyond proportions threatening the stability of the society. Mixed marriages or foreign marriages implies that one of the partners is a non-UAE national and in UAE it is generally the men that opt for foreign women. UAE is a global country but the family has to safeguard itself against the country’s fundamentals so that the culture does not mingle with the culture of other nations (Galal, 2009). This fear arises due to the fact that there is a mix of cultures with around 200 nationalities in the UAE. Thirty percent of the country’s one million people are married to foreigners (Mackinnon, 2009). Heartdes (2006) agrees that there has been a shift in the attitude towards marriage and family in the UAE (Heartdes, 2006). Emiratis represent just 15% of the population estimated to be around 6.4 million (Gala, 2009). About 40% of the UAE men seek a foreign wife which in turn means that the number of local women that remain single is increasing. About 28% of the country’s people are married to foreigners and 79% of the UAE men that divorce their local wives, do so to marry foreigners (Heartdes, 2006). According to the 2004 statistics, there were 598 marriages and 265 divorces registered in which one partner was a foreign national (Mussallam, 2005). This paper seeks to highlight the negative consequences of such mixed marriages and recommends the corrective actions that the government should immediately take to restore the culture and stability in the UAE society. 2. Reasons why UAE men prefer to marry foreign women The Emirates men marry foreign women for several reasons. Marriages in the Gulf Arab states are expensive affairs with huge dowries to be given. As materialism has grown in the society the demand for higher dowries serves as a deterrent to the UAE nationals and leads them to marry foreign women (Al Awadhi, 2008). The dowry system is traditional in the UAE and as the country’s wealth soared, so did the expectations of dowry (Heartdes, 2006). Secondly, the wedding celebrations are lavish and cause financial strain on the families. In the status-conscious Arab circles, the average cost of a wedding had gone up to as much as US$ 100,000 (Janardhan, 2002). As costs spiral out of control, it works as a disincentive for any couple to contemplate marriage within the country. The men are expected to take care of all the costs including the wedding expenses, the dinner party, the engagement ring, and the bridal attire. This forced the men to turn to the European, Asian or even foreign Arab women for marriage. In Dubai, Iranian brides topped the list followed by Indians and the statistics reveal that 1239 local men married foreign women between 1997 and 2001 (Janardhan, 2002). The youth feel it is simpler to marry foreign women as they can avoid the local social customs. Eight-three percent of UAE men have said they marry foreign women due to the tradition of huge dowries prevalent in the society (Mackinnon, 2009). The cost of getting a divorce is cheaper if it involves foreign wife. The third reason that UAE men prefer to marry foreign women is to avoid the domination by the local women. The foreign women tend to be submissive and not as demanding as the local women because they are away from their families. Fourthly, the Arab women are gaining higher education and delaying marriage. Besides, as the women become educated, the males in the traditional male-dominated society do not prefer women who are more educated or earn more than them (Fattah & El Sawy, 2006). 3. Consequences of mixed marriages It is an issue of personal freedom which can and should be respected (Al Awadhi, 2008). There has been a phenomenal growth in the Arab society that has changed the social landscape and impacted the behaviour and priorities of the people. The society has become cosmopolitan, the standards of living have arisen and people have access to luxuries and material wealth. However, this growth has come with some challenges in the society. With the growth of the Arab economy, foreigners can be found in plenty in the UAE which has taken a toll on the Emirati culture (Fattah & El Sawy, 2006). This has manifested itself in rising number of UAE youth marrying foreign brides. Getting married and staying married is a way of preserving the national identity (Galal, 2009). With the majority of the Gulf States having expatriate population and myriad cultures, maintaining the cultural identity has become important as demographic imbalance is taking place. The increase in the number of expatriates and the intermingling of cultures is healthy for society but it should not lead to dwindling of the local culture and identity. Mixed marriages, which involve a non-Muslim, threaten social stability (Anonymous, 2001). Such marriages also lead to drug abuse, high divorce rates and the loss of the countrys Arab and Muslim heritage. Additionally, it affects the local culture which can be abused by foreigners whose interest is to get the country’s citizenship (Janardhan, 2002). It is also believed that foreign women marry for the sake of citizenship and then seek divorce which ensures them an allowance (Janardhan, 2002). In addition, the men have to struggle to save up to two-thirds of their income after marriage to repay the loans. The result of foreign marriages is that divorce rates also have gone up. Mixed marriages are leading to the “society more opening up, getting more modern and more exposed” (Fattah & El Sawy, 2006). One in four marriages ended in divorce in the UAE in 2008 and in 42% of the cases, the couples were in the age group of 20-30 (Galal, 2009). In addition, the Federal National Council (FNC) reports that national men between 60 and 70 years of age marry young foreign women and there is conclusive evidence that these women seek divorce after three years of marriage and after having children (WomenGateway, 2009). By this time they already attain the UAE citizenship and they seek divorce under the pretext that their husbands are old. They then receive monthly salaries from the Ministry of Social Affairs which also helps them seek young husbands from the country of their origin. This has negative consequences on the children who feel estranged and feel the loss of sense of belonging to the UAE. These children become the victims of such mixed marriages and they are mostly from Asian and European mothers who do not speak Arabic. Most of the Asian wives are young and uneducated and the intention is only to get money and the citizenship. Forty five percent of the old national men get married to their Asian housemaids without realizing the consequence of these marriages which invariable end in fiasco. In the case of the youth marrying foreign women the parents of the groom most often are not aware of the wedding till it has taken place. The rules should be stricter whether the husbands are old or young as in both cases it results in the disunity of the family. This aggravates over time because the children from the foreign wife cannot marry the local national and they have to seek a spouse from the country of origin of the mother (WomenGateway, 2009). Moreover, the children from such mixed marriages are less educated and live in appalling conditions. Research also suggests that after divorce, the parents of the foreign wife refuse to accept her children and they are handed over to the Embassy. The children receive a shock when they grow up as they realize that they are UAE children. They vent their anger against the parents and the aged father who is a UAE national is unable to cope with the situation. When these children are asked to adjust in the European environment, they are unable to do so because the culture there is totally different. Marriage to foreign women does not merely negatively impact the country’s social and cultural structure but also affects the foreign wives because of the high rates of divorce in such marriages (Madaad & Rizvi, 2003). The divorce rates of such marriages had already reached 61 percent in 1991. Before getting married these foreign women have to convert to Islam but when such marriages break she is the biggest loser because she does not derive any benefits. Another negative impact is the increasing number of spinsters in the UAE society which has gone up to a dangerous limit as UAE men marry the expatriate women (Madaad & Rizvi, 2003). Apart from the social and security problem, this is an injustice to the local women (Mussallam, 2005). While the social experts consider such marriages as a social problem, the national men do not find share the same concern. According to the local men, marriages are more complicated with local women than if they marry foreign women. They find marriages to foreigners simpler in terms of expenses and adjustability as the local women are busy pursuing careers or studies leaving them with little time for the family (Madaad & Rizvi, 2003). However, diversity in traditions and culture and differences in life-styles do end up in break-up of such mixed marriages. 4. Government initiatives HH Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan had started the Marriage Fund with the prime motive of making the UAE men conscious of the implications of mixed marriages on the economy, society and the culture. Financial grants were given to nationals that agreed to marry local women. It was with a view to reduce the phenomenon of dowry prevalent in the Arab society. As a growing number of young women in UAE remained unmarried a special fund was set up by the UAE authorities to help young men meet the wedding costs (El-Rashidi, 2006). It was feared that as people opt of weddings as they were unable to meet the expenses, it could translate into lower population growth rate. It also serves to turn the men away to foreigners. Apart from providing financial support, the government is also imposing fines US$ 135,000 (Janardhan, 2002) as they feel that extravagance and excessive dowries exhaust the youth in the beginning if their married life (Heartdes, 2006). If men over 30 marry the local men there is an added incentive offered by the government over and above the US$ 20,000 (Janardhan, 2002). To curb expenses, mass weddings are taking place. To discourage marriage to foreigners, the government is reviewing the citizenship laws. Citizenship is proposed to be restricted to children born to Emirati fathers. The government is considering an outright ban on foreign marriages. In Saudi Arabia and Qatar it is difficult to marry foreign women. 5. Recommendations The media should take up the responsibility to shed light on the negative consequences that arise from such marriages. The consequences on the children and the foreign women should be projected in the larger interest of the nation. The media should also highlight the numerous benefits that the government provides for marrying within the UAE. These benefits include grants in the expenses like Marriage Fund, land, home, mass weddings etc (Madaad & Rizvi, 2003). Through the help of the media the mindset of the families have to be changed who demand dowries. Setting up matrimonial agencies could help ease the situation as local men have found that they would prefer housewives from the local tribes. This requires encouraging the setting up of matrimonial agencies that can help the local men find the bride of their choice within the UAE. The local men have more opportunities for interaction with the expatriate women and end up marrying them (Madaad & Rizvi, 2003). The UAE men have expressed their keenness to marry within the UAE but they want that inhibitions are done away with and they are freely allowed to communicate with girls and their families. The age difference in mixed marriages should be limited to 15 years. This would help solve the issue of old men taking very young wives. It has also been suggested that the foreign women should be forced to return to her country of origin with her children if she takes divorce from the local UAE husband. 6. Conclusion It can thus be seen that mixed marriages is a consequence of growing desires and materialism in the society. The demand for luxurious lifestyle encourages the families of the bride to demand higher dowries. Secondly, the UAE men find it easier to mix and interact with the foreign women and thus find a life partner. The consequences of such marriages affect not just the individuals but the society and the nations as a whole. It impacts the economy, the future generation that has no sense of belonging to any society, the foreign women as the divorce rates are high, and the local women as it has given rise to the number of spinsters in the society. While have a society with diverse cultures is healthy but this is leading to the dilution of the national identity and the local culture. The government has taken several initiatives by way of Marriage Fund, land, home and mass weddings but several other initiatives have to be taken to curb the incidences of mixed marriages. For instance, the media has to play an active role in highlighting the negative consequences of mixed marriages and also in highlighting dowry as a social evil. The society norms have to change which would allow the local men to mix and interact freely with the local women and select their own partners. Matrimonial agencies could also help in overcoming this block in the society. There is no doubt that the negative consequences of foreign marriages are plenty in the UAE and immediate corrective steps have to be taken. References Al Awadhi, N. (2008). Why Emirati men marry foreign women. Retrieved online 21st October 2009 from http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/why-emirati-men-marry-foreign-women-1.105273 Anonymous. (2001). International: Marriage and divorce, Emirates-style. The Economist. London: Jan 27, 2001. Vol. 358, Iss. 8206; pg. 48, 1 pgs El-Rashidi, Y. (2006). For Oil-Rich Brides, Caviar, Crystal, And 1,000 Guests; Persian Gulf Sees a Boom In Extravagant Weddings; Almonds Coated in Gold. Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition). New York, N.Y.: Jan 20, 2006. pg. A.1 Fattah, H. M., & El Sawy, N. (2006). Here Comes the Bride. New York Times. (Late Edition (East Coast)). New York, N.Y.: May 26, 2006. pg. A.4 Galal, O. (2009). Marriage in UAE key to identity. Retrieved online 21st October 2009 from http://www.arabnews.com/?page=9§ion=0&article=124563&d=14&m=7&y=2009 Heartdes. (2006). UAE men are marrying foreign wives. Retrieved online 21st October 2009 from http://www.heartdes.com/heartsA/modules.php?name=Journal&file=display&jid=450 Janardhan, M. S. (2002). POPULATION: UAE EYES WAYS TO DISCOURAGE MARRIAGE WITH FOREIGNERS. Global Information Network. New York: Oct 30, 2002. pg. 1 Madaad, S., & Rizvi, M. (2003). Federal law on marriages likely to be unveiled soon. Retrieved online 21st October 2009 from http://www.khaleejtimes.com/Displayarticle.asp?section=theuae&xfile=data/theuae/2003/september/theuae_september301.xml Mackinnon, M. (2009). Fondness for foriegn wives alarms UAE: Wealthy Gulf State finds costs of dowries makes men wary of brides close to home. Retrieved online 21st October 2009 from http://tyo.ca/islambank.community/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=767&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0 Mussallam, N. S. (2005). Marriage of locals to foreign women to be curbed. Retrieved online 21st October 2009 from http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayArticle.asp?col=%C2%A7ion=theuae&xfile=data/theuae/2005/February/theuae_February223.xml WomenGateway. (2009). Woes’ of Mixed Marriage. Retrieved online 21st October 2009 from http://www.womengateway.com/enwg/News/2008/December/mainennws3.htm Read More