Political Science

Understanding Family Laws in Qatar
Family law is a practice area that encompasses the legal issues that face families.  A family is the basic unit of the society. It provides a template for social norms and values which determines a individuals personality, behavior, and viewpoints in life. This is supported in the universal human rights declaration in article 16(3) which stated, the family is the natural and fundamental unit of the society and is entitled to protection by both the state and society. Thus, efficient family laws are noteworthy in the pursuit of better individuals, which embark the role of good citizens in the community. Legal issues affecting the family include Marriage, Adoption, Divorce and Child custody as stated by V. Powell in the legal companion 2005.

Qatar is a dominantly Muslim state with a dual legal system. It has  a civil law jurisdiction, where laws are followed by citizens and judges, codified and written in a collection, which is accessible to the citizens. However, it is the Islamic Law or Shariah  Courts which encompass inheritance, certain criminal acts, and family laws. Qatars Sharia courts have been really limited on the matters of family law (succession, marriage, and divorce, wills etc) due to the contradicting aspects of the religious matters and the international provisions on legal matters affecting the family. From early history, Qatar has been exposed tto Persian, Portuguese, Ottoman and British influence. Relationship with Britain further strengthened until 1971 when Qatar declared independence. At that time, the Penal Code, Civil and Criminal Procedure Codes were adopted, while personal law remains unmodified and are administered by sharia courts. At this date, Qatar maintains dual system of civil and sharia courts.
Nevertheless, family laws in Qatar can be considered quite liberal as compared to other Muslim states such as Saudi Arabia. At present, Qatar family law is intended to be brought closer to the contemporary international standards. It is during the reign of the current emir Hamid bin Khalifa, since 1995, that massive liberalization and modernization has been seen ( e.g. men could be allowed to wear shorts in public while the strict regulations on womens wardrobe have been at least relaxed).
  Family law in Qatar aims to redefine the status of women within the family and the society. It allows women to be guardians for themselves, giving them a sense of independence and empowerment. It also raises womens minimum marriage age to 18 years old. Significantly, it emphasizes the family as an equally joint responsibility of the spouses, but still maintaining the wifes obedience to her husband (Reforming Islamic Family Law, 2009).

Legal stipulations on marriage
Traditionally, the ideal marriage was tribal, related families encouraging their offspring to marry cousins or other relatives in order to increase and strengthen the tribe, or occasionally to marry into another tribe in order to heal rifts between families. Another reason for such marriages was that families knew the background of the partner. httphome.swipnet.seislamarticlesdivorce.htm
In Qatar a groom identifies the potential wife and approaches the father after which the dowry is discussed and paid. When the bride has consented to the marriage, the marriage is then sealed and this is followed by the official marriage celebration which may last as long as the families can afford. The newly-weds then leave for their nuptial celebration which symbolizes the brides official departure to her matrimonial home. The bride can either stay at the grooms home where the young wife becomes a member of the extended family, or the couple can settle to a new home.

According to the Sharia law a Muslim man is allowed to marry up to 4 wives provided he can support and provide their necessities. But a bride can add a clause restricting her husband from marrying another woman if the groom agrees before the marriage, then it becomes binding in him. The bride retains her maiden name and it goes without saying that the various roles in a Muslim marriage are defined with the husband being the provider and the wife being the nurturer.

The statutory age for marriage is not clearly defined but puberty was the approximate time when most people get married. This trend has gone to an average of 20 years due to the demands of the modern life style and expectations.

Qatar being a Muslim state, highly prohibits same sex marriage. This is not permitted and the same sex union may result into severe punishment according to the Sharia laws. People practicing such unions do so in secret and are not protected by the law.

In Qatar a citizen is allowed to marry a foreigner only after obtaining permission from the government. If a man obtains the permission and is granted, his foreign wife automatically becomes a citizen after leaving her own passport and their children as well. On the other hand, when a woman obtains permission to marry a foreigner, she still holds her citizenship while her children are not automatically considered Qatar citizens.   Although a Muslim woman may not marry a non-Muslim man unless he converts to Islam, the reverse isnt the case. However, non-Muslim women are often pressurized into converting, and there have been many cases of foreign women marrying Arabs and then discovering that the local culture and lifestyle are unacceptably restrictive. It should also be noted that, in the event of the breakdown of such a union, the children are usually kept by the husband in his home country.

Divorce
A man can divorce his wife simply by saying I divorce you three times. He can rescind the divorce if this was done in the heat of the moment, but only if the wife agrees (and only on three occasions). On the other hand, even if a wife has good reason to seek a divorce (e.g. if her husband has been unfaithful, abused or deserted her, or engaged in criminal activity), she must go to a court for the case to be heard. The husband must maintain a divorced wife and any children from the marriage if the wife is unable to support herself. He can also claim custody of any sons when they reach the age of ten. A female divorcee usually returns to her family, and few remarry as explained by Sayyid Mujtaba Musavi Lari in his article Islam and Divorce. HYPERLINK httphome.swipnet.seislamarticlesdivorce.htmhttphome.swipnet.seislamarticlesdivorce.htm

Child custody
This is the stipulation of where the present parental responsibility lie after the divorce whether it is with the father or the mother.

Types of custody
(i)Temporary - this refers to the custody immediately after divorce. This can be graanted on either party provided an agreement has been reached and is binding on both parties.(ii) Legal custody - this awards the parents the right to make decisions concerning the general welfare of the child. (iii) Sole - this is where the court allows either the father or the mother to take custody of the child (iv) Dual-this allows both parents to take custody of the child during specific intervals.

The physical aspects of a custody defines the child s residence. Here the general rules are
 the court makes the final decision, thus assumes full responsibility in order to permanently safeguard the child against acute or chronic feelings of guilt in most states the court will consider the childs wishes differently according to his or her age in a situation involving more than one child, experts feel that it is usually best to keep all siblings together with respect to the custody arrangements

In Islamic law, the mother is only allowed custody of her son according to his age, thus, if the boy reaches a considerate age (10), his custody automatically goes back to the father as stated in Hidayah, vol. IV, pg. 553

Adoption
Adoption is basically a statutory procedure governed by the Compilation of Islamic
Laws (Kompilasi Hukum IslamKHI). It includes the adoption of a child by a relative or other unrelated person, the adoption of a stepchild by a stepparent, the adoption of a child in a foreign country, or even the adoption of an adult. Adoption is not allowed among the Muslims, thus it is not accepted in Qatar, except by the Christian missionaries who adopt kids whose parentage and religion is not known. Although , the people can take care of a Muslim child,  but the child does not become their legal child. It is acceptable for a Muslim to adopt a child whose parentage is unknown and is not of the same faith and simply bring up the kid and convert it to Islam. Vice Chairperson of the Mahkamah Syariyah (Islamic Court) of BandaAceh, Drs.Salahuddin Mahmud, says
Divorce settlement

It goes without saying that a Muslim man must maintain his wife and children if the wife  is unable to do so due to financial problems. The husband should support his separated wife  till the children become off-age, bearing in mind the provider principle of the father and the nurture principle of the mother. Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi, former President of the Islamic Society of North America, states.