4 Marriages with Welsh women

Before 1914, the majority of Yemeni settlers in Cardiff were men. Because of their work in the docks, and through running cafés and lodging houses, they became connected within certain levels of Welsh society. Intermarriage with Welsh, English and Irish women was quite common. According to Seddon, Yemeni men in Cardiff were much more likely to marry local Welsh women than were men from Southeast Asia, who preferred to remain single or bring wives from their country of origin (Seddon, 2014, p. 165). Marriages were preferably conducted under Muslim rites, although these often lacked official legal recognition and were therefore less secure for the wives (who often converted to Islam) and their children. Women who married Yemeni seafarers found they had more autonomy because their husbands were away for long periods of time, but they also bore huge responsibility for childcare and religious teaching.

Marriage to Welsh women offered one route towards social integration for Yemeni immigrants. However, unions between Muslim men and non-Muslim women often met with disapproval from each community, and provoked jealousy among Welsh men. In 1919, the Chief Constable of Cardiff, James A. Wilson, called for legislation to make sexual relations between Muslim sailors and white women a criminal offence. This was one of the local measures that would influence the racially discriminatory Special Restriction (Coloured Alien Seamen) Order issued by the Home Office Aliens Department in 1925 [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .