spouse; threatens family unity; can inhibit women’s ability to remove themselves abusive marriages; and further undermines women’s status in society and the family. 15. The constitutional amendment passed in 2006 to Book 7, On Marriage and Divorce, Chapter 3: On Impediments to Marriage,8 states that “Children who are the result of marriage between foreign men and Iranian women, who have been born in Iran, or are born in Iran within one year from the date of the ratification of this law, will be able to apply for Iranian citizenship when they reach the full age of 18. These persons will be accepted as Iranian citizens if they lack criminal records or security violation backgrounds and renounce their non-Iranian citizenship. The Interior Ministry obtains evidence of the birth of the child in Iran as well as the issuing of marriage permit as stipulated in Article 1060 of the Civil Law, and the Law Enforcement Forces after being informed by the Interior Ministry issue the residence permit of the foreign father stipulated in this article. Children concerned with this article are permitted to reside in Iran prior to obtaining citizenship.”9 16. This law reform clearly has not eradicated gender discrimination in the nationality law. It also fails to protect the child’s right to a nationality, does not protect against discrimination and does not serve as a safeguard against statelessness. Consequently, the law has been critiqued as follows: “The amendments potential to reduce statelessness is limited by criteria that are difficult (if not practically impossible) for those with stateless children, or those rendered stateless by gender discrimination, to meet. This includes the requirement of proof that the child was born in Iran, a marriage certificate between the parents, proving the foreign father’s legal residence in the country and proving they have renounced their non-Iranian nationality which the stateless do not have. …The criteria set out in the legislation to acquire Iranian nationality, most notably the need to provide the father’s documents and proof of marriage, means that children born out of wedlock cannot benefit from this amendment” 10 17. In its 2016 review of Iran, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recorded its concern that: 8 Act on Determination of the Nationality of Children Born into Marriages of Iranian Women with Men of Foreign Nationality, 2006. 9 Note 1– If persons to whom this Articles applies, are older than 18 years of age at the time of the approval of this article, they must, within a period of one year, apply for Iranian citizenship. Note 2 – Persons who after the date of the ratification of this law are born in Iran, are the result of marriage between a foreign man and an Iranian woman, and the marriage of their parents has been registered from the inception of the marriage in compliance with Article 1060 of the Civil Law, will be accepted as Iranian citizens within one year after reaching the full age of 18 and without meeting the residence requirement stipulated in Article 979 of the Civil Law. http://irandataportal.syr.edu/nationality-law [Accessed March 09, 2019]. 10 Tucker, Jason (2014): Exploring Statelessness in Iran. Gaps in the Nationality Law, Populations of Concern and Areas for Future Research. Online available: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2441850. 4