Why gender discrimination should be abolished
Answers
The contribution of gender discrimination to generating and perpetuating statelessness is considerable, and there continues to be a need to address such discrimination in nationality laws.
Discriminatory nationality laws disrupt people’s lives in many ways. Women choosing not to have children for fear of the problems those children will face. Young, eligible men unable to find a wife because their statelessness would affect the whole family, including by being passed on to their children. Loving couples under pressure to divorce in the hope that this may open up a pathway to nationality and a more secure future for their children. Children who cannot complete their schooling, access health care, find a decent job when they grow up, inherit property, travel or vote. These are not the intended effects of nationality laws that permit men, but not women, to transmit nationality to their children. Quite the reverse: the historic purpose of systems under which the father’s nationality is decisive for that of his children was to bring unity and stability to families. Yet, in reality, where a child is not able to access its mother’s nationality due to discriminatory laws, the impact can be harsh.[i] In particular, if the father is stateless, unknown, deceased or unable or unwilling to pass on his own nationality, a child may be left without any nationality.