Gender-Discriminatory Nationality Laws Are Fueling Poverty And Violence Against Women

Around a quarter of countries still have nationality laws that deny women the same rights as men to acquire, retain, or change their citizenship, or to pass citizenship onto their children or foreign spouses. These legal inequalities expose women and their families to a wide range of harms. 

A new publication, “Proposed Select Draft Articles on Nationality Rights to Ensure Gender Equality,” by Equality Now and the Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights (GCENR), provides model guidelines for policymakers to reform and enact nationality laws that ensure all citizens, regardless of their gender, have access to equal citizenship rights. GCENR is a coalition housed at the Women’s Refugee Commission.

In an interview for IPS News, GCENR campaign manager Catherine Harrington spoke with Maithreyi Kamalanathan of Equality Now about why gender-equal nationality laws are crucial to building an inclusive, thriving, and prosperous society for all.