A Helpful Hint for Family Planning

Don’t have children with a man from the Middle East.

Not from Saudi Arabia.  See Nathalie Morin.

Not from Lebanon.  See Melissa Hawach.

Not from Iran.

the Iranian government has placed strict limits on the ability of Swiss diplomats to intervene in such cases because they do not recognize the concept of dual nationality and therefore, when one parent is an Iranian citizen, consider the children involved to be Iranian citizens only.

…

If the child’s father is an Iranian citizen, the child is considered an Iranian citizen under Iranian law and could travel abroad on an Iranian passport. There is nothing the Department of State can do to prevent the issuance of an Iranian passport by the Iranian Interests Section of the Embassy of Algeria.

Probably not from Egypt.

Conditions for “Presumptive Custody”: Courts in Egypt generally uphold presumptive custody for the mother if she is a “person of the book” (i.e., Muslim, Christian or Jewish) and if she is deemed to be a “fit” mother.  If the father is Muslim, the court generally requires that the mother commit herself to raise the child as a Muslim in Egypt .  If a non-Egyptian mother’s custody is upheld in court, she generally must still request the permission of the court to take the children out of Egypt .  Also, under Egyptian law, if the mother (Muslim or non-Muslim) remarries she may lose her claim to custody of her children, depending on the court’s determination based on the best interests of the child.  This law, however, does not apply to the father; he would normally retain custody rights if he remarries.

In fact, if you’re female, you might not want to actually visit any of those countries.

At the very least, do some research and don’t let your heart override your brain.