provided they have not acquired their father’s nationality. However, many such applications remain pending, leading to long delays.6 Additionally, the Constitution grants citizenship by descent to a child born in Nepal to a Nepali mother and an unknown father, provided they have domicile in Nepal. If the father is later identified as a foreign citizen, the child’s nationality is converted to naturalized citizenship. In practice, obtaining nationality through this provision is extremely difficult. The child and mother must declare that the father is unknown and navigate multiple procedural hurdles that compromise their dignity. These barriers often deter them from pursuing citizenship applications. In contrast, children born to Nepali fathers – whether in Nepal or abroad – automatically acquire Nepali nationality. Americas Under the Constitution of the Bahamas, children born in the country automatically acquire Bahamian nationality if either parent is Bahamian. For children born abroad within wedlock, only a father who was born in the Bahamas automatically confers Bahamian nationality. Children born abroad to a Bahamian mother and a foreign spouse may apply for nationality between the ages of 18 and 21, provided they do not hold another nationality. For children born out of wedlock abroad, nationality is automatically conferred through the mother if she was born in the Bahamas; by contrast, Bahamian fathers are unable to confer nationality on children born abroad and out of wedlock. Additionally, in cases of adoption, a Bahamian woman can confer nationality on her adopted child only if she adopts as a single parent. In joint adoptions, only the father is able to confer nationality. Under the nationality law of Barbados, all children born in the country acquire Barbadian nationality at birth, but Barbadian mothers cannot confer nationality on their children born abroad, whereas Barbadian fathers can. While the Dominican Republic’s Constitution establishes equality between men and women and serves as the primary law governing nationality, the Naturalization Act imposes different rules for conferring nationality. A Dominican naturalized mother can pass Dominican nationality to her children born before her naturalization only if the father has not recognized paternity or if she has been granted custody. In contrast, a Dominican naturalized father can confer nationality simply by recognizing paternity. Middle East and North Africa The nationality law of Bahrain only allows Bahraini mothers to confer nationality on their 6 The Supreme Court has ordered that such decisions are made without delay. See Arjun Kumar Shah vs Government of Nepal, Writ no. 074-WO0518, decided on 13 September 2018 and Sita Devi Adhikari et al vs Government of Nepal, Writ no. 067-WO1249, decided on 10 July 2013. An unofficial translation of these cases can be found in Compilation of Selected Decisions of Supreme Court on Citizenship and Birth Registration 2021, by the Forum for Women, Law and Development. U N H C R > B A C K G R O U N D N O T E O N G E N D E R E Q U A L I T Y, N AT I O N A L I T Y L A W S A N D S TAT E L E S S N E S S 2 0 2 6 13