Municipal Fee Support Sought for Bahraini Women Married to Foreigners

Lawmakers have approved to send to the government an urgent proposal that would extend municipal fee support to Bahraini women married to non-Bahrainis and to non-Bahraini mothers with custody of Bahraini children, matching the approach used for electricity support.

MP Mohammed Mousa said the proposal drew on Ministerial Decision No. 3 of 1999 on reducing some municipal fees. ‘This proposal is based on the constitutional framework that guarantees protection for the Bahraini family and strengthens social stability,’ he said. He added that the 1999 decision already permits fee reductions for defined groups under clear rules.

‘Article 1 of the decision set out fee reductions for certain categories under defined conditions, while Article 5 regulated the scope of the reduction and limited it to a single home,’ Mousa said, arguing that the existing system already contains limits that can be used to control eligibility.

He said the present rules do not cover Bahraini women married to non-Bahrainis, despite their citizenship status and the presence of Bahraini children in many such households. ‘The scope of the reduction does not currently include the Bahraini woman married to a non-Bahraini, despite her being a Bahraini citizen with full rights and duties,’ he said.

He added: ‘It also does not include the non-Bahraini mother who has custody of Bahraini children, even though support in essence is meant to protect the interests of the Bahraini citizen and their living stability.’

Mousa compared municipal fees with electricity support, saying: ‘Electricity support takes into account the presence of Bahraini citizens within the household and reflects the social and humanitarian dimension in how support is directed.’ He added: ‘That is the same approach that should apply to municipal fees, as an essential service tied to housing and family stability.’

The proposal was submitted by MPs Mohammed Mousa, Hamad Al Doy, Bader Al Tamimi and Hassan Ebrahim.