Approach cops if parents deny your rights
One of my acquaintances — a 28-year old woman — is residing in the UAE under the sponsorship of her parent. She has been denied access to any means of communication with acquaintances who may have helped her for few months. Can a female expat under the sponsorship of her parent be held against her will in the UAE? Can she lodge a complaint with the police? As far as I am concerned, it seems like an abuse of parental privilege. I am unaware of the emirate that issued her visa. Do the same laws apply to Dubai and Sharjah? Pursuant to your questions, we assume that your acquaintance is an unmarried woman residing in the UAE under the sponsorship of her father. The UAE provides every resident in the UAE the right to exercise personal liberty once he or she attains the age of majority, provided it is not against morality and the prevailing laws of the UAE. As an unmarried female, the guardianship and maintenance of your acquaintance shall be with her father. It should be noted that the federal laws of the UAE are applicable to the entire UAE relating to personal status. Article 171 of the Federal Law No. 28 of 2005 states: “Any person who reaches maturity age and is in full mental capacity and not being interdicted of his legal capacity shall have full competence to practise his rights stipulated for in the law.”
If your acquaintance feels that her personal liberty and human rights are violated by her parents, she may file a complaint at the nearest police station or can approach the human rights department in the emirate she resides.
What to do if ex-husband refuses to pay alimony
I have two sons with my ex-husband. He divorced me a few years back and now works and stays in the UAE. When we were married, I stayed with him in the UAE for two years. He cancelled my visa against my will and sent me back to Pakistan, before divorcing me. I filed a case in a Pakistani court to get monthly financial support from him for my children, which was granted by the court. But he left Pakistan to the UAE without making any arrangements to make the payments and now he is unreachable. An arrest warrant has been issued by the Pakistani police, but there is still no sign of his return to Pakistan. My children and I are struggling to make both ends meet as we don’t have any income. If I travel to the UAE, will it be possible to get some legal support to trace him and make him agree to support my children? If yes, what is the procedure and how much will it cost? Pursuant to your queries, it is the legal and moral responsibility of a divorced man to maintain his minor children from his previous marriage. The father should maintain a girl child until she marries and, in the case of a boy child, until he reaches the age of majority. This is in accordance with Article 78(1) of the Federal Law No.28 of 2005 concerning Personal Status in the UAE, which states: “Maintenance of the youngster having no financial resource shall be borne by his father. Girls shall be maintained till they get married, while boys shall be maintained till they reach an age when he can earn money, unless he is student pursuing his study with usual success.”
Since there is already an order pronounced by a court in Pakistan that your ex-husband must provide financial support to your children, you may notarise and legalise this order. Then grant a notarised and legalised power of attorney to a law firm in the UAE to register a case before a court of competent jurisdiction in the UAE, to execute the order issued by a foreign court. For more information on the costs involved you may contact a legal counsel in the UAE.