The United Arab Emirates boldly expands personal freedom and legalizes pre-marital sex, but the law has difficulty fulfilling its promises

Sharjah, United Arab Emirates - Last year, a dozen unmarried women crowded into a cell in southern Dubai. They were imprisoned for childbirth when a guard entered and announced their release.

One of the women described the incident as one of the first concrete signs that the United Arab Emirates legalized pre-marital sex when it reformed its Islamic criminal law.

But a year later, these unmarried mothers are still in trouble, struggling to obtain birth certificates for babies born in the shadows.

The new law that came into effect two weeks later still does not provide unmarried women with a clear way to obtain birth certificates for their children. At the same time, the law criminalizes women without such documents.

Although unmarried mothers no longer face jail after the UAE legalized premarital sex in November 2020, they are now facing cumbersome red tape.

Obtaining birth certificates for their babies is an expensive process, and the country’s poorest residents — foreign workers who clean offices, provide food and take care of other mothers’ children — cannot afford it. In the UAE, the number of foreigners exceeds the number of locals by nearly nine to one.

"We are full of hope," said Starr, one of the people who was released from Sharjah Central Prison in December 2020 with a three-month-old daughter. "Then the trouble came, I thought I didn't have the strength to get through it."

Out of fear of retaliation, Star only revealed her name. She and six other unmarried women, most of them Filipinos, described their legal struggles to the Associated Press.

Before last year's law change, several people had given birth in hospitals, but the health authorities refused to provide them with a birth certificate and reported to the police. Others are afraid and lonely retreat to their shared apartment to have children.

In the UAE, hospitals only issue birth certificates to married parents. Without a certificate, children will not be able to get medical services, go to school or travel. Their mother lost her job and residency rights during the prosecution under the old law, so she got into trouble. The number of undocumented children in the UAE is unclear.

Lawyers say these obstacles stem from persistent conservative mentality and lack of government coordination.

Some women even long for the previous punishment, which is usually a year of detention and deportation. Although terrible, it at least guarantees their children's home and identity documents.

Sitte Honey, a 25-year-old mother, said: "Since the law changed, the situation has become more difficult. They won't send you to jail, and they don't want you to have a baby," she added, noting that abortion It is also forbidden. "We are trapped."

Dirar Belhoul Al Falasi, an advisory member of the Federal National Council of the United Arab Emirates, believes that last year's decriminalization had an impact.

"Before that, I didn't have anything in my hands to legalize what they had," he told the Associated Press. "But now, there is a law... we can help them."

According to a new law that came into effect on January 2, parents who fail to provide documents for their children face at least two years in prison. It does not mention that the health authorities issue birth certificates to single mothers. The law requires parents to marry or obtain travel documents and other documents to prove the identity of their children, but it does not elaborate on how.

This caused panic among unmarried mothers who feared further punishment.

Last year, as lawyers scrambled to learn about opaque laws and regulations, women like Stare walked out of prisons across the country. The conditions of the facilities vary, and in some facilities, mothers and children are separated.

Star said her daughter was taken away while in custody. She said that 15 women share a bathroom, rely on rice and bread for their livelihoods, and have 30 minutes of fresh air every day. Other women said that the police's interrogation of their sexual history was very humiliating.

But after they were released, these women still couldn't get what they wanted most: identity documents.

The 36-year-old mother Maya asked the authorities for help in November 2020 when she heard that it would help her obtain a birth certificate for her 1-year-old. After several weeks of torture at the Al Qusais police station in Dubai, the authorities realized the changes in the law and released her. But they never granted her daughter legal status, forcing her to jump from one government office to another in the process of seeking.

"These huge fundamental changes are very welcome, but there are still many things that need to be caught up," said Ludmila Yamalova, managing partner of LYLAW, which handles cases of unmarried mothers.

"Emotionally and spiritually, people are not ready to accept that the law is a reality," she added, referring to health and law enforcement agencies.

Women continue to raise undocumented children in secret. Noraida Gamama was eager to record her 3-year-old daughter. She posted a notice on the door of her apartment in Sharjah, warning her six roommates to check the peephole before answering to make sure it was not Government officials.

Living on expired visas and relying on a meager income to feed their babies, many people cannot afford court fees and attorney fees. The cost of independently opening a birth certificate application case in Dubai Family Court exceeds 350 USD.

Ann, 36, is engaged in a number of part-time jobs and sleeps a few hours a night to feed her undocumented 2-year-old girl. She recounted the pain of sending her to the floor of a rented Dubai room. "All I want is to give her a name and take her back to the Philippines, where she can live a better life," Ann said.

Despite this, more and more women are taking their cases to court with varying success. A staff member of a court in Dubai stated that the system handles more than 50 “baby cases” every day.

Two years ago, when Hani found out that she was pregnant with her boyfriend's child, she appealed to the Philippine consulate and asked to send her home. But while waiting for help that never came, Naya was born in her small apartment.

After escaping from the abusive employer who confiscated her passport, Hani lost her legal status and she became more and more eager to leave Dubai. But the authorities could not deport her until Naya got the documents.

"It's a nightmare. No money, no visa, no rent, no plan," Horney said.

In order to expedite her return, Hani's 47-year-old mother moved to Qatar to work as a nanny and raised funds for the case in Dubai last month. She is still waiting for the first hearing and is trying to obtain written confirmation of the parent-child relationship from her ex-boyfriend.

This process requires unmarried mothers to provide a large number of personal documents, perform DNA tests and testify before a judge. If the judge approves, the mother can request the birth certificate of her child.

Some people, such as Star, have persisted and succeeded.

"The joy is overwhelming, knowing that your daughter is no longer illegal," Star said from his home in Davao City, Philippines. "It's like my first breath."

24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events