According to an investigation by Guardiandomestic workers who fled their abusive employers claim that their children, born out of wedlock, are not entitled to a birth certificate. Lacking a visa, they are “trapped” there.
Neither birth certificates for their children, nor visas. In Saudi Arabia, single mothers are “trapped”unable to properly care for their children born out of wedlock to whom the country refuses everything, starting with a birth certificate, and unable to emigrate to their country of origin, due to lack of a visa. This is what reveals an investigation carried out by the Guardian and published this December 18. These mothers, former domestic servants, all fled abusive employers who kept their identity documents. Five of them spoke to the British daily, expressing their despair.
All these women say they tried to leave the country, in particular because children born out of wedlock in Saudi Arabia are not entitled to a birth certificate. Their undocumented status means they lack access to basic rights and services, including medical care and education, and cannot travel outside the Kingdom. In addition, visa applications for these mothers are also not processed, on the grounds that they have children. “stateless persons”.
Indeed, sexual relations outside of marriage constitute a crime under the Islamic laws of Saudi Arabia. Human rights groups say women are disproportionately charged on this charge because the resulting pregnancies are considered evidence. The authorities can thus consider that survivors of rape or sex trafficking have confessed to having had extramarital sex and can prosecute them.
“They told me they would send me to prison”
The five women interviewed by the Guardian became pregnant after having sex with migrant workers, although the daily insists that many others became pregnant after suffering violence from their employers or other employees. All of these women are now single mothers and some say they have been abandoned by the father of their child, the latter fearing arrest for having had extramarital sex.
Fatima*, a Kenyan migrant who came to Saudi Arabia to work as a domestic worker, says that when she went to the hospital in Riyadh urgently for pain as she was about to give birth, the staff threatened to call the police. “They told me they would send me to prison if I didn’t bring the necessary documents. I was so afraid of going to jail with labor pains. I pretended to walk around the hospital. Then I walked out the door and went home.”.
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Fatima gave birth to a son just five minutes after entering her home. “I cut the umbilical cord and washed myself. I cleaned my baby and wrapped him in a blanket. It was scary, but I had to do it. There was no one else to help me.”. Fatima said she ran away from her employer’s home because he was sexually harassing and physically abusing her. He also confiscated his passport. Since then, she has worked in odd, undeclared jobs. She has been trying to leave Saudi Arabia for two years because her son, now eight, cannot go to school.
“They are missing a lot of things”
“The authorities here don’t care about babies and their mothers”said Fatima, who, with a group of other migrant mothers, organized a public demonstration with their children, very often infants or toddlers, in April in the Manfuhah district of the capital. They blocked traffic on a road and chanted that they wanted “go home”. The Guardian recalls that protests are illegal in Saudi Arabia and punishable by imprisonment. “We want our children to go to school. They are missing a lot in early childhood education. It’s very important and our babies don’t have this chance.”added Fatima.
According to migrant rights experts interviewed by the Guardianthere would be several thousand cases of children “stateless persons” born out of wedlock in the Gulf countries. Women interviewed say they are struggling to stay healthy and feed their children while waiting to leave Saudi Arabia. “I have to beg for vegetables at the grocery store, unsold bread and milk for my child”said Lisa*.
The mothers interviewed by the British daily say they have tried several times over the past two years to get help to leave Saudi Arabia and claim that the Kenyan embassy refuses to issue them exit visas, same reason for refusal as their host country. “People at the Kenyan embassy say we are prostitutes”confessed Christine*, Kenyan mother of a young child born out of wedlock. “They forget that some of these babies are the result of women who were raped by their boss or by the driver of the house where they work. It’s very painful”.
Child trafficking mentioned by the embassy
The Kenyan Embassy said it took DNA samples from the mothers and their children in November 2023 and was “processing” test results. Mohamed Ruwange, Kenya’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, has denied an allegation that embassy staff wrongly told some mothers that their DNA did not match that of their children.
“The Embassy wishes to affirm that it looks after the entire Kenyan Diaspora population with the utmost respect, decorum, diligence and professionalism. In particular, on this sensitive issue involving minors and the inherent danger of child trafficking, the Embassy has assisted and continues to assist affected Kenyan mothers within the framework of the applicable laws of the Republic of Kenya and the country of welcome”declared Mohamed Ruwange. The Saudi government, invited by the Guardian to react, did not wish to speak.
* Names have been changed by Guardian to protect the identities of mothers and their children.
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