I recently wrote a post about marriage restrictions in Saudi Arabia. This is a complicated field: laws and regulations are updated seemingly on whims and fancies and unconfirmed rumors are just as likely to be true than false.

Having said that, I had quite a bit of fun researching for that post, and the local Arab News has written an interesting article that briefly touches on the issue of exogamy in the Saudi Arabian context, giving me a new opportunity to write about it. Ignore the title of the article. Let’s examine the last few paragraphs.

With regards to new registered (and approved) marriages, the total number of foreign women married to Saudi men last year was 2373. The total number of foreign men married to Saudi women was 2122. That’s a difference of only 251, or 6%. Given the difficulties and complications involved in obtaining permission to marry a foreign fellow, that’s quite an impressive number. Also, in an effort to prove my sensitive feminine side (cough), I’d like to throw in the word “romantic” here, to be used in whatever context the reader would like (it’s on the house).

One point to take away from the article is that, with regards to foreign grooms, only four countries of origin are listed, all of which are Arab, three of which share borders with Saudi Arabia. Granted, geographic proximity, cultural familiarity and historical ties probably factor in (note that the highest number of foreign spouses for either sex are from Yemen); however, it leaves us to wonder what nationalities/citizenships the remainder 768 (or 36% of foreign) grooms bear. A second, and more interesting to this writer, point is that the 2122 marriages of Saudi women to foreign men, at some point, will most likely result in children, who will not bear their mother’s citizenship (see here for more on the laws that govern citizenship acquisition in Saudi Arabia). This is the part that gives immigration studies enthusiasts a boner – how will the law evolve to reflect the growing population of “half-Saudi on my mum’s side” young citizens?

Re-evaluation of Saudi Arabian family law in general should be a priority issue, as this blog only makes too clear (it’s written in an alarmist tone, but it does summarize some of the problems succinctly). On a positive note, a few concessions and changes have recently been made: these changes though have resulted in some interestingly complex situations – see here for an example of a case where two sons were granted citizenship whereas their female sibling was denied.

Here’s to hoping the small concessions pave the way for more equitable legislation with regards to citizenship acquisition. Article 27 of the King Fahd issued Basic Law of Governance states that “the State shall guarantee the rights of the citizens and their families in cases of emergency, illness, disability and old age” [emphasis added] – this is great with regards to social welfare, but the fact that children of female citizens are denied these privileges and rights based on their inability to acquire Saudi citizenship fuels the concept of a two-class citizenship system, one where females are the lower class. It also demonstrates one of the (many) ways such a two-class citizenship system can be problematic.

The solution is simple: rather than the convoluted laws currently in existence, unified legislation with regards to citizenship acquisition of children born to couples where only one partner is Saudi, whether the Saudi party is male or female, should be implemented.

A third point worth examining is, is the number of marriages to non-Saudi men by Saudi women a reflection of increased mobility, both educational and geographic? A change in definitions of what constitutes “social normality” that is becoming more accepting of women marrying the literal legal definition of “other”? Is this number a reflection of change across the Kingdom, or is it limited to certain regions – the Arab News article, in addition to omitting the nationalities of the 768 grooms mentioned earlier, does not break down the “marriage to foreigners” figures by regions. Just a guess, but I’d wager it’s higher in cities near the borders – Tabuk, Dammam, and Jeddah. Another question to ask: are there any significant variances between educational levels of women (and their spouses) that are in marriages where the male partner is a non-Saudi? Would any variation be relevant to a study on the socio-legal significance of such marriages?

I will try to obtain more data in hope that I may answer some of these questions (the editors at Arab News, for some reason, aren’t responding to my emails). Also, would be nice to find some socio-legal research on exogamous marriages in Saudi Arabia and how the law shapes/is shaped by it.

To end this, I’d like to apologize for the fact that the last few posts have all fallen within the same theme: I’ve somehow hijacked this blog into a roaming series of articles on Saudi Arabia. My intent in co-authoring this blog was to provide an outlet for writing outside of work/academics, on topics I (and D.) find interesting (some people doodle, I imagine certain scenarios under which Sherlock Holmes can legally immigrate to Canada), and why we hope others might as well. I’m finding it too easy though to write about Saudi Arabia lately (thanks for the fodder, folks!), but I do have a few half written posts on the recently released Assassins Creed III trailer (seems another of my favorite characters is relocated to the USA) and on this awesome Turkish movie that I hope to upload soon.

Warning: there’s approximately 1 minute of nudity in the linked film. People were too busy to get naked for more than 60 seconds in Turkey during the 80s; probably because of all the ninjas roaming around hitting (you read that correctly) people with their inferior quality swords/katanas.

A.