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“The UAE nationals have been advised not to marry foreign women due to social, legal and financial complications which arise following such marriages, said a renowned lawyer. Speaking at the Noor Dubai Radio, CEO of Bin Haider Advocates & Legal Consultants in the UAE, said a large number of cases are pending before the courts due to such marriages. He pointed out that the young men marry foreign women not to make family but to get rich. But if the husband’s income gets depleted, the foreign wives create problems which lead to court cases……… He said a decree by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, fixed it at Dh50,000 which applies only in case of marriages with the Emirati women. While the marriages of UAE nationals with foreign women will be subject to what was agreed upon in the marriage contract with regard to alimony………….”

The potentates on the Gulf love to meddle in such private matters as marriage. The Bahrain royals are an exception for being less intrusive: they are too busy gassing, beating, and shooting their people (or throwing them in prison or handing them to imported Jordanian or Iraqi Ba’athist torturers). The Saudi princes don’t allow their ‘normal’ citizens to marry foreigners without government approval. It is seriously frowned upon. One can get fined heavily if one marries a foreign woman (or even a man) without royal approval. We are talking tens of thousands of Rials. But there is some hope: the man can always appeal to the king for an exemption (I hear he has a soft heart for true love, especially in cases of multiple polygamy). Besides, for true love there are always the Turkish novellas: I hear even the royals are attached to them.
The potentates of the UAE have been tightening the screws, really no pun intended here. (Really it is the al-Nahayan of Abu Dhabi that boss the others around). They have been trying to ‘regulate’ marriages and block citizens from marrying foreigners (mostly UAE men marrying foreign chicks). Other GCC states have also grappled with this issue; at least one regime has been threatening to form a government commission to look into these cases. This is one thing the GCC potentates can agree on: unify their marriage standards and laws. While at it, they may revisit the polygamy issue: the potentates and their Salafi shaikhs are experts on that (talking marriage here).
Cheers
mhg


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