We got this via email from a mother who thought its really unfair for a bank to have or apply this rule. It might be a rule from the central bank of Kuwait but that does not make it right.
Here is what she wrote:
There is something that happened to me today that left me quite offended. You know the jawhara account in NBK? I went to open an account for my son and since I’m the mother I had to sign some papers stating that If my son won anything, I can’t touch nor withdraw the prize, even my son can’t touch the money until he’s 21 years old. What shocked me was when they told me that I should let the father open the account since the father CAN withdraw the money if my son ever wins. Now this I don’t get. They trust the father to act responsible and assume that he’s trustworthy and I, the mother who wants to start the account, am not!
He might be a good father, and know what is best for the family and I’m sure that most of the fathers are trustworthy, I’m not saying otherwise, But he might spend the money the wrong way too.. and if you’re giving him the right to watch over the son’s money, well, I’m the other parent! and I think I should be given the same right.
This rule also implies that when the son turns 21 he’s going to be more wise than me with his money. This rule/law also implies that the father and the 21 year old son are wiser and more trustable than the mother in any age. ta’7alof!
Ofcourse now I’m going to withdraw the money and put in my account, so just incase I win, I can make my whole family and everyone happy.
Thanks c’est la vie for sharing this with us 🙂
[…] Yousef Wrote an interesting post today on somecontrast.comHere’s a snippet: […]
Did u know that a woman can’t take a housing loan alone (ya3ni if she’s divorced or anything)? She either has to make the house half under the sons name, OR if her daughter is OVER 30 (ya3ni ra7 3alaiha il zawaj) she can take it our under her and her daughters name!!!! o0 la’a if she takes it with her son, he has to sign that khalaas ra7 3alaih the housing loan for when he gets married!!!
This is not a rule from the central bank, this is a rule from GOD, so submit and obey!
i feel really ofended !! womens ( with all my respects to all the men out there ) in kuwait are really intelegents and they hold all the familly responsibilities and some times even better than the man!! 9ij 9ij takhalof !!! if u wasent responsibile u wouldnt bother to go to the bank and establish al johara account for ur son but who thinks !!!!!
I went to a political nadwa yesterday to see two candidates and one woman who was attending told the candidates and the rest of us about how she was going to renew her passport and they simply wouldn’t allow her to do it without her husband. She said that she was going abroad to represent Kuwait ( I am not sure in what) but that she was insulted by that. Apparently the husband has to be there and show that he accepts or sign something madri shino. BUT if she were single I don’t think she’d have that problem legally.
This is just ridiculous.
I hate nbk. I hate all banks
Here is progress – the mother wrote about it. She opened her mouth, and said “this isn’t right.” That’s where change starts.
I’ve had this problem for years with the children’s savings accounts. This is because when the account was opened, it was signed by their father (as their legal guardian). This makes him the only person who can have access to their accounts (invest, withdraw, or inquire about balance, etc…).
This was particularly infuriating to me because I was allowed to make deposits into their accounts but could not know the balance of my savings for them.
After complaining, the bank gave me the following option for the existing accounts:
The children’s father in the presence of a bank employee must grant me power of attorney in writing. In that way, I am permitted to have access to their accounts.
This we have already done and it went smoothly. However, the primary legal guardian is the father.
Later on, I was advised to apply for a bank card for each of the children’s accounts so that I could check their accounts online and avoid the hassle of direct interaction with the bank.
In opening subsequent dealings, I have opened an account for my child and signed for him, thus giving me full access without permission from the father.
This involves providing the bank with the child’s original birth certificate (proving you are the mother ) in addition to other pertinent papers and Civil ID copies.
Mom’s Comment
“I agree with c’est la vie. I had a similar experience when I went to open an account for my youngest son (around 20 years ago). I always open accounts for them when they’re babies, to put their Eid money and what not. I never had a problem with any of my other kids, just the youngest, where they told me I’m not allowed to open an account for him and just the father is allowed. I ended up taking the papers to the father to sign them.
The fathers in Kuwait can be busy sometimes, not that they don’t care, but there are certain duties in Kuwait where the woman is more involved in seeing them through, and the bank is one of those duties. I think its not right for them to take the mother’s right to oversee her kids’ accounts. especially in this day and age, where women are more involved in everything.
If it was ok for me to open an account for my kids +25 years ago, why isn’t it ok now? was it not haram +25 years ago?”
is this only with NBK or all the banks in Kuwait – regarding the accounts that give awards ya3ni…!
this is ta5alof btw… my father is a BIG spender and my mother is the one in charge of the money… she taught us all we know about saving… soo… it doesn’t seem smart at all…
anony I never knew its an islamic rule, care to tell us more about it? 🙂
But its still interesting how the bank select which islamic rule to follow and which to ignore. I mean NBK still deals in Riba (interest) right?
Am happy with all these comments and that people understands what i ment , its right what the mother wrote that kuwaiti fathers are busy and we as mothers are too involve in our kids lives and do alot of things for them ,all what we do is under the approval of our husbands and they trust us with money from the start so that upset them too.
Anony i just dont know what to say !
yousef shift im always an example ;p lol
Yousef .. even the “islamic” banks have interest .. bas they call it “arbaaa7” :p