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Mother in UAE loses custody of children for marrying foreigner

Abu Dhabi - The court stripped her off the custody of the children and granted it to their father.

 An Emirati mother has lost the court battle over the custody of her four children because she got married to a foreign man after divorcing the children's father.
The court stripped her off the custody of the children and granted it to their father. The man was also spared from the burden of paying alimony and monthly expenses to his ex-wife.
The Federal Supreme Court upheld rulings by lower courts that had accepted the father's request for the custody of his three girls and a boy saying that he was afraid the children won't be brought up well by their mother who was married to a foreign man with different culture and traditions.
The father also said that the children, all above 10, were now grown-ups and that he was able to take good care of them as the father without their mother's presence.
Court records stated that custody of the children had been granted to their mother after the couple separated a few years ago. The father was also ordered to provide a house, financial support including the children's school expenses and a housemaid to his children and their mother.
After learning that the woman got married to another man, who is a non-citizen, the Emirati man filed a lawsuit demanding custody of his children. He also asked court to force the woman leave his house and stay with her new husband and that he should be spared from giving her the monthly alimony.
The man said in his lawsuit that he was worried about the safety and proper upbringing of his children after their mother got married to a foreign man.
Both the Family Court of First Instance and the Appeal Court had earlier stripped her off custody of the children after hearing from both parties. The Emirati woman challenged the ruling in the UAE's top court, which has upheld earlier rulings that granted the custody of the four children to their father.
The Supreme Court judge issued the ruling after confirming that the father was capable of taking care of the kids and he can raise them in accordance with his culture and traditions.
The court also said in the ruling that despite filing the appeal challenging earlier rulings, the mother didn't attend any of the court sessions.
ismail@khaleejtimes.com