However, after years of struggle by affected families, civil society, and leaders within government, Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Tunisia and Yemen are now benefitting from reforms that advanced gender equal nationality rights. Because of these reforms, families are more secure and family unity is protected. Children can access university and pursue their professional dreams. No citizen must choose between a life without children, or watching their child face a life of hardship as a stateless person. However, the benefits of gender equal nationality laws are extending beyond citizens and their families, and are strengthening these nations as a whole. The reforms are supporting sustainable development, by enabling the families of women citizens to contribute to the prosperity of the country. By eliminating gender discriminatory provisions in the nationality law, these countries have also eradicated a root cause of exclusion and marginalization, thereby enhancing national stability and security. Importantly, these laws are enabling countries to live up to the mandates enshrined in their Constitutions and their commitments in international treaties to uphold the equal rights of citizens, women and men, without discrimination. The experience of these countries also demonstrates that such reforms can be made in countries across the region with the political will. With the region facing instability and high levels of displacement, the size of the population suffering from gender inequality in nationality laws is on the rise, and threatens to create a new generation of stateless children. In contexts of conflict and displacement, fathers are often forcibly separated from their children or deceased, and civil documentation is frequently lost or unavailable. This can make it extremely difficult to prove the paternity of a displaced child. These factors, combined with nationality laws that deny women the right to confer nationality on their children, dramatically increase the risk of stateless amongst forcibly displaced children. This is particularly pertinent in the Syria situation which has left one fourth of Syrian refugee children in female-headed households, without fathers present to attest to their nationality. It is critical that regional governments take action without delay to end gender discrimination in nationality laws. As illustrated in the pages that follow, those countries that ensure the equal nationality rights of their citizens will benefit for generations to come. This publication provides a brief overview of reforms enacted in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Yemen to enshrine the equal right of citizens of these countries to confer nationality on their children. It does not detail the important movements for gender-equal nationality rights in these countries, which advanced women’s equal citizenship and the welfare and security of countless affected families. Iraq is also profiled, though gaps remain regarding women’s ability to confer nationality on children born abroad. The second half of the publication summarizes the significant benefits to citizens, their families, and society when gender equal nationality rights are upheld. 3