The Jordan Times
By Hani Hazaimeh
AMMAN - Women activists this week reiterated their call on the government to remove its reservations on the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), while other parties described the agreement as a form of cultural globalisation.
Earlier this year, the government decided to lift its reservations on paragraph four of Article 15 of the convention, which gives women freedom of mobility.
Speaking at a workshop to discuss the convention, Jordanian National Commission for Women Secretary General Asma Khader welcomed the government’s decision, noting that women activists have strongly advocated for lifting the reservations.
In July 1992, the Kingdom signed the convention which was ratified and published in the Official Gazette in August 2007 with three reservations related to the citizenship, housing and women's mobility clauses in the Personal Status Law.
"We call on the government to lift the two remaining reservations," Khader said, pointing out that Islam stresses gender equality and protects women rights, but "individual malpractices restrain some of these rights".
"Differences in opinion over the agreement should not stop us from exchanging views and remarks on CEDAW till we reach a common ground," Khader added.
Criticising the convention and describing it as "a cultural globalisation", Marwan Faouri, president of the Moderation Assembly for Thought and Culture, said it was a type of control practised by the UN on member countries.
"The agreement is not consistent with our religion and traditions and it will change our national identity," he told The Jordan Times, adding that it adopts the views of the liberals who do not represent Arab Muslim communities.
Other participants at Tuesday’s workshop, organised by Al Urdun Al Jadid Research Centre, focused on the citizenship clause and urged the government to grant nationality to children of Jordanian women married to foreigners.
According to a study by the Arab Women’s Organisation released last year, based on the 2004 national census, around 12,000 out of 1.7 million married women in the Kingdom are wed to non-Jordanians, with 5.5 children per woman.
Earlier this week, the Islamist movement called on the government to withdraw from the CEDAW, saying the treaty will lead to a myriad of social problems in the country.
"Families in Jordan face the threat of total collapse under CEDAW," warned the Islamic Action Front, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Showing posts with label citizenship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label citizenship. Show all posts
Monday, May 4, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Bahrain: Five laws passed without changes
Gulf Daily News
MPs yesterday approved five laws passed to them by the Shura Council without discussion or amendments.
Both chambers are in dispute over several articles in the five laws but MPs decided yesterday that they could pass them without any delay because there were no major differences.
The laws will be now ratified by His Majesty King Hamad.
Among them is granting equal rights to the children of Bahraini women married to expatriates as those with Bahraini fathers.
The Shura Council decided to include a new article last month in the law.
It stipulates that children of Bahraini women have to be permanent residents in order to benefit from equal rights.
The bill 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.
Parliament also agreed with the Shura Council to reject an amendment among several others to the Trade Unions Law that would have allowed more than one union in the same establishment on the basis that it would create tension and division between employees.
MPs also agreed with councillors on setting up a new medical licences and services authority, after a vote to reject the Shura Council amendments was halted by parliament chairman Khalifa Al Dhahrani early this month, asking MPs to study it further.
They also approved an amended bill by the council granting GCC nationals equal rights as Bahraini businessmen when setting up businesses in Bahrain.
Parliament was also on its way to insist on its decision in regard to three other laws amended by the council but decided to postpone discussions until tomorrow's extraordinary session, which was later cancelled as MPs voted for a day off.
Parliament had earlier approved a bill to pay pensions of the deceased in the government, private and military sectors to distant relatives if they had no close family members.
However, the council rejected the bill, saying that pensions were not inheritance and could not be dealt with in the manner MPs wanted.
Services committee chairman Dr Ali Ahmed said parliament was hoping to approve all of Shura's decisions but found it difficult to approve the remaining three bills.
"I have been very lenient with councillors despite some disagreements on their approach to articles in the medical licences and services authority," he said.
"My committee liked the addition of children of Bahraini women and the ban on the formation of several unions in one establishment and according to that I recommended their approval. "But I have a huge dispute with councillors over the pension laws and parliament would have insisted on its previous decision if MPs did not decide to postpone discussing it. "Thankfully the major laws have been approved and are now in the hands of His Majesty King Hamad to ratify."
MPs yesterday approved five laws passed to them by the Shura Council without discussion or amendments.
Both chambers are in dispute over several articles in the five laws but MPs decided yesterday that they could pass them without any delay because there were no major differences.
The laws will be now ratified by His Majesty King Hamad.
Among them is granting equal rights to the children of Bahraini women married to expatriates as those with Bahraini fathers.
The Shura Council decided to include a new article last month in the law.
It stipulates that children of Bahraini women have to be permanent residents in order to benefit from equal rights.
The bill 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.
Parliament also agreed with the Shura Council to reject an amendment among several others to the Trade Unions Law that would have allowed more than one union in the same establishment on the basis that it would create tension and division between employees.
MPs also agreed with councillors on setting up a new medical licences and services authority, after a vote to reject the Shura Council amendments was halted by parliament chairman Khalifa Al Dhahrani early this month, asking MPs to study it further.
They also approved an amended bill by the council granting GCC nationals equal rights as Bahraini businessmen when setting up businesses in Bahrain.
Parliament was also on its way to insist on its decision in regard to three other laws amended by the council but decided to postpone discussions until tomorrow's extraordinary session, which was later cancelled as MPs voted for a day off.
Parliament had earlier approved a bill to pay pensions of the deceased in the government, private and military sectors to distant relatives if they had no close family members.
However, the council rejected the bill, saying that pensions were not inheritance and could not be dealt with in the manner MPs wanted.
Services committee chairman Dr Ali Ahmed said parliament was hoping to approve all of Shura's decisions but found it difficult to approve the remaining three bills.
"I have been very lenient with councillors despite some disagreements on their approach to articles in the medical licences and services authority," he said.
"My committee liked the addition of children of Bahraini women and the ban on the formation of several unions in one establishment and according to that I recommended their approval. "But I have a huge dispute with councillors over the pension laws and parliament would have insisted on its previous decision if MPs did not decide to postpone discussing it. "Thankfully the major laws have been approved and are now in the hands of His Majesty King Hamad to ratify."
Monday, April 6, 2009
Yemen: Parliament ratifies amended Yemeni citizenship law
Written By: Abdul-Aziz Oudah
Article Date: Apr 4, 2009 - 7:03:58 AM
The parliament ratified in it session held on Tuesday a legal article on Yemeni citizenship, the original article item No. 3 of the law No. 6 issued in 1990 over Yemeni citizenship has now been amended to stipulates that any person born to a Yemeni father or mother has the right to hold Yemeni citizenship.
According to the law, any person born in Yemen to a woman has the right to carry Yemeni citizenship and the child’s relation to his/her father does not need to be proved. Indeed anyone born in Yemen to unknown parents is also considered Yemeni and has the right to acquire citizenship.
The law gives the right to any emigrant holding Yemeni citizenship upon departure and continuing to maintain citizenship, to gain the citizenship if he/she so requires even if he/she has a citizenship from another country.
Anyone that has citizenship via their mother and reaches the age of maturity is given the right to choose whether to maintain the Yemeni citizenship or to join that of his/her father.
The parliament’s session, headed by Speaker Yahya Arra’i ratified the law on the bases of the Constitutional and Law Committee’s report. The session was attended by a number of concerned government officials.
Article Date: Apr 4, 2009 - 7:03:58 AM
The parliament ratified in it session held on Tuesday a legal article on Yemeni citizenship, the original article item No. 3 of the law No. 6 issued in 1990 over Yemeni citizenship has now been amended to stipulates that any person born to a Yemeni father or mother has the right to hold Yemeni citizenship.
According to the law, any person born in Yemen to a woman has the right to carry Yemeni citizenship and the child’s relation to his/her father does not need to be proved. Indeed anyone born in Yemen to unknown parents is also considered Yemeni and has the right to acquire citizenship.
The law gives the right to any emigrant holding Yemeni citizenship upon departure and continuing to maintain citizenship, to gain the citizenship if he/she so requires even if he/she has a citizenship from another country.
Anyone that has citizenship via their mother and reaches the age of maturity is given the right to choose whether to maintain the Yemeni citizenship or to join that of his/her father.
The parliament’s session, headed by Speaker Yahya Arra’i ratified the law on the bases of the Constitutional and Law Committee’s report. The session was attended by a number of concerned government officials.
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