AHMR African Human Mobilty Review - Volume 8 No 3, SEP-DEC 2022 nationality laws have been successfully challenged and reformed on the basis of their violation of equality and non-discrimination rights, setting a precedent for law reform in many other jurisdictions. However, as we have seen in the above discussion, law reform is only part of the response. As the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights notes, significant gaps remain between these guarantees on paper and implementation in practice at the national level. Moreover, there is evidence of indirect forms of gender discrimination impacting the application of gender-neutral laws, undermining women’s nationality rights, including with access to identity documentation and birth registration. This preliminary analysis suggests that gender discrimination is so widespread in nature that it requires closer attention to how indirect, systemic gender discrimination plays out in the implementation of even gender-neutral laws and administrative and bureaucratic processes related to nationality, with consequences for elevated risks of statelessness. The promising progress in recognising how gender discrimination against women impacts statelessness is welcome. There is a clear trend towards reform of gender-discriminatory nationality laws and affirmation of equal nationality rights at international, regional, and national levels. But, as many people, especially women, around Southern Africa struggle to obtain or retain identity documents, register the births of their children, and face gender-discriminatory laws and policies, it is apparent that more work and further research is needed. International human rights law, and especially the substantive view of equality enshrined in CEDAW, calls for much more attention to the many ways in which varied forms of discrimination against women contribute to statelessness and compound the effects of being stateless. Intersectional feminist analysis highlights the need to explore underlying structural inequalities and discriminatory norms that play out in women’s vulnerability to statelessness, and the compounded and intersecting grounds of discrimination that are often involved. While this article has sought to draw attention to some of these issues, and provide insights into current developments on gender and statelessness in the Southern African region, further attention in research and literature is needed. Deepening understanding of the unique gendered dimensions that are both a cause and consequence of statelessness is important to ensure a rights-based and comprehensive response in prevention and protection efforts. 40