UN panel urges UAE to give women equal national rights

GENEVA: UN experts on Monday urged the UAE to give women the same nationality rights as men and called for equal rights between the sexes in marriage and divorce. The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) voiced its concerns following a fourth periodic review of the United Arab Emirates.

CEDAW is a body of 23 independent experts that monitors the implementation of the treaty on ending discrimination against women. "The committee expressed concern about numerous provisions of the Personal Status Law that discriminate against women and girls, particularly the de jure retention of male guardianship, the persistence of polygamy, and the limited grounds for divorce available to women," it said. The experts were also concerned that women in the UAE did not have the same right as men to pass on their nationality to their children.