Kenyan Mothers ‘Trapped’ in Saudi Arabia With Stateless Children

Date: 18 December 2024 - 22:50

News ID: ۱۳۴۸۲۹

RIYADH (Arab  News) – An investigation by the Guardian has revealed that Kenyan women who once worked as domestic helpers in Saudi Arabia are unable to leave the country, as their children, born outside marriage, are denied birth certificates and legal documentation. Without these papers, the children are considered “stateless,” preventing them from being issued with exit visas and even access to basic rights such as schooling.
Five women interviewed by the British newspaper shared harrowing accounts of fleeing abusive employers who confiscated their identity documents. Their children, born during relationships with fellow migrant workers, remain unregistered as Saudi Arabia’s laws criminalize sex outside marriage. This often results in severe repercussions for women, including prosecution and imprisonment.
One of the women recounted being denied medical help while in labor in Riyadh. “They said they would send me to jail if I didn’t bring [the necessary] documents. I was so afraid to go to jail with labor pains. I pretended like I was strolling around the hospital.”
Forced to leave the hospital, she gave birth alone at home, cutting the umbilical cord herself. Her eight-year-old son has never attended school due to his undocumented status.
In April, she was among a group of other migrant mothers who staged a rare public protest in Riyadh’s Manfuhah district, blocking traffic and chanting for the right to return home. The demonstration was a bold act in a country where protests are illegal and punishable by imprisonment.
Another mother of a stateless toddler was quoted as saying, “The people at the Kenyan embassy say we are prostitutes. They forget that some of these babies are from cases of rape by their boss or the driver of the house you’re working in. It’s very painful.”
It is estimated that there are thousands of stateless children born outside marriage in Persian Gulf Arab countries.