Saudi Arabia has instituted a new law that bans male citizens from marrying women from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Chad and Myanmar.
Rumour has it that the law came about due to the fact that the local population is so high. An estimated 500,000 women from the four named countries reside in Saudi Arabia.
The announcement is part of Saudi Arabia's efforts to limit Saudi men from marrying expatriates. There are approximately 9 million expatriates in the kingdom, making up two thirds of the total population.
Saudi newspaper Makkah summarises the new marriage rules/BBC
Mecca's police director Assaf Al-Qurashi stated that additional formalities have been set in place for the permission of marriage with foreigners to be granted. Some of these formalities include obtaining consent from authorities and submitting marriage applications through official channels.
All marriage applicants applying to marry a foreign woman must be over the age of 25 years, and should attach identification documents signed by the local district mayor. They must also provide all other identity papers, including a copy of family card.
And if you're a divorcée, a man must wait six months after the divorce to apply for marriage again.
Majority of the marriages that take place in the country are arranged by family members and are still heavily influenced by things such as caste and tribe, not to forget the country's track record when it comes to granting equal rights to women.
This recent move has raised eyebrows in the Gulf and Pakistani press. Comments on the the Pakistani Dawn newspaper site range from accusing the kingdom of racism to suggesting "our women are safe now". And the Saudi Gazette asks why women from these four countries are singled out in particular. The Saudi government has not commented officially on the report.
Featured Image: news.nom.co
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