Abandoned by fathers, children born of ‘misfar’
marriages long for recognition
Habib - Khaleej Times
About 900 children born to Egyptian
women and Saudi men in what is commonly known as ‘misfar’ or ‘tourist’
marriages are abandoned by their fathers, according to Aiman Abu Akeel,
chairman of the board of trustees of the Maat Foundation for Peace and
Development.
Speaking at a recent forum on human
trafficking in Egypt, Abu Akeel, said that the majority of men who visit Egypt
looking for misfar marriages tend to be Saudi, followed by Iraqis, and that the
women they marry are predominantly younger than them.
‘Misfar’ marriage refers to a union
contracted so that a woman may join her ‘husband’ for the period of time he
travels in a foreign country.
Azza Al Jazaar, the general organiser
of the Anti-Trafficking of Egyptian Girls programme, said that these young
women do not know they are being treated like commodities. She said their
fathers receive up to 4,000 Egyptian pounds from these men for trading off
their girls, and added that most of these girls are below 16 years of age.
Statistics show that some SR100 million
are spent on misfar marriages, which last for not more than a month, with 90 per
cent of Saudi fathers leaving behind children born out of such relationships.
However, Najeeb Al Zamil, founder of
the Back to the Roots Foundation, a non-governmental organisation that helps
Saudi children abroad, said that while some children live in miserable
conditions and turn to drugs and illegal activities, there are others who have
become models and actors. He added that some of these children are smart and
get educated, but they feel lost because of unrecognised parenthood.
“I met one Saudi-Filipino girl who said
she has everything but feels she has nothing because her father doesn’t
recognise her, while another said she feels like a puzzle with a missing piece.
She said she wants her father to feel proud of her,” he said.
Al Zamil, a member of the Shoura
Council, said he has called for DNA tests to be recognised as a legitimate
means of determining kinship, something that would force a father to admit
parenthood. He said that many of these children are not in need of financial
aid nor do they want to come to the kingdom but are desperate to be recognised.
There are 47 Saudi-Filipino children
registered with the Saudi Embassy in Manila, but Al Zamil believes their actual
number is much higher with more people contacting them daily.
Saudi lawyer Ibrahim Al Zamzami
criticised women who do not bother registering their marriages. “If a woman has
a marriage contract and witnesses, and if the child’s birth certificate states
that the child is born after a legitimate relationship, authorities can force
the father to accept the child as his,”
he said.
Even though the father violated the law
that prevents him from marrying a non-Saudi without approval, this does not
mean that any children from such a marriage will not be registered at the Ministry
of Interior,” Al Zamzami said.
RELATED
POSTS:
.
The sexual perversities of Saudi Muslims, the West do not know about
This picture shows a sex slave auction – in Saudi Arabia ..
19-Year-old Gang Rape Victim to
Receive 200 Lashes and 6 Months in Jail in Saudi Arabia
http://elicit.wixsite.com/the-watchdog/single-post/2015/07/01/Abandoned-by-fathers-children-born-of-‘misfar’-marriages-long-for-recognition
No comments:
Post a Comment