What’s the future of this girl?
HURDLES GALORE AS 13-YEAR-OLD GIRL’S MUM SEEKS TO LEGALISE HER STATUS VIA AMNESTY
No passport, no ID, no father, teenager’s mother seeks to legalise her status via amnesty |
Since Mariam was delivered at home, her mother Halima has not been able to secure a birth-certificate for the girl from a hospital in the UAE. As a result, she also does not have a passport.
Thirteen-year-old Mariam Khan rarely leaves her home. She has never been to school. And she has never seen her father.
Her mother, Halima Mohammad Abdul Razak Khan, 32, works as a housemaid in Sharjah.
Bangladeshi expat Halima was four months pregnant when her relationship with her Pakistani husband fell apart. She has a valid marriage certificate registered in Ajman Court. But her child has no birth certificate, or passport. She is hence an illegal.
Halima, who has a valid work visa, is now trying to avail of the ongoing amnesty and rectify Mariam’s status as mother and daughter want to continue living in the UAE.
Noor Ahmad Khan Sultan, Halima’s husband, is said to have worked as a driver in Sharjah. Halima claims her husband has not been in contact with her and Mariam.
Painful experience
She said it was like a nightmare when she was forced to deliver Mariam in a homebirth.
“There was no one around to take me to the hospital when I started having labour pains.”
“A neighbour tried calling my husband several times. She then called my brother, but by the time he reached home, I had delivered the baby,” said the teary-eyed mother.
Since Mariam was delivered at home, Halima has not been able to secure a birth-certificate for the girl from a hospital in the UAE. As a result, she also does not have a passport.
No schooling
Mariam claimed she has never attended school in her life. She has never been given formal education as her mother could not produce legal documents in her name.
“My life seems to have come to a standstill,” said Mariam.
But when you talk to the young girl, you would never guess that she has never attended school. She speaks fairly good English and attributes it to some Good Samaritans who come home and teach her the language.
“I also picked up some English while watching Japanese cartoons on YouTube. They all came with English sub-titles and my proficiency in the language improved,” Mariam said.
Legal help
Salam Pappinnisseri of Ali Ebrahim Advocates and Legal Consultant is helping Halima get a legal document for Mariam.
“We approached the Ajman court and they have referred Mariam’s case to the Child Protection Centre in Sharjah,” he told Gulf News.
Fakir Muhammad Munawar Hssain, First Secretary (Labour) of the Embassy of Bangladesh, said: “We are always available [to help] this girl. But from a documentation process, we require two things — a no objection certificate (NOC) from the Embassy of Pakistan authorising us to issue the girl a Bangladeshi passport. We also need some proof of the girl’s birth like a birth certificate or birth notification issued by relevant UAE authorities.”