AHMR African Human Mobilty Review - Volume 8 No 3, SEP-DEC 2022 of colonised countries around the world, as occurred in many countries throughout Africa.26 Consequently, this discriminatory approach was prevalent in nationality laws around the world until recent decades, although it is less common now. There are two main legal consequences arising from the dependent nationality approach that result in gender discrimination. First, women can be required to automatically give up their own nationality upon marriage to a foreign national and acquire their husband’s.27 Conversely, some laws also restrict women from passing their nationality to their foreign husbands upon marriage on an equal basis with men’s right to pass nationality to their wives. This restriction is a concern where the male spouse is stateless or at risk of statelessness. As recognised by the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) in a case concerning Mauritius in 1981, this restriction impedes the right to family and is discriminatory on the basis of sex.28 Secondly, due to the preference for following the male lineage, nationality of children passes through the man, barring women from passing their nationality to their children.29 As such, many countries enacted laws that require women to lose their nationality upon marriage and restrict women from passing nationality to their children. No such restrictions apply to men who married foreign nationals or became a parent. The consequences can be severe. For example, children who cannot acquire nationality from their father can become stateless if their father dies, abandons the family, becomes stateless, or cannot prove his nationality.30 Women married to foreign nationals risk losing their acquired nationality and becoming stateless if their status changes, such as through divorce or death or abandonment by the husband.31 As of 2022, more than 50 countries worldwide have laws restricting women’s equal rights to acquire, retain, or change their own nationality.32 A total of 25 countries still have laws that restrict women from passing their nationality to their children.33 For example, in Eswatini, the Constitution states that children can only acquire nationality from their fathers.34 There is an exception if the child is born out of wedlock and not legally or customarily recognised by the father, which is the only circumstance where a Swazi mother can pass her nationality to her child. There are still many countries worldwide, including Malawi and Lesotho, that restrict a woman from passing her nationality to her non-citizen spouse, although no such restriction applies to men.35 Overall, there has been significant progress in the Southern African region to reform gender discriminatory nationality laws. As one of the last remaining countries in the region to include gender discrimination in Ibid. Ibid at 16. Aumeeruddy-Cziffra v Mauritius (35/1978), Views, CCPR/C/12/D/35/1978. 29 International Law Association op cit note 25 at 18. 30 CEDAW GR 32 op cit note 6 para 61. 31 Ibid para 60. 32 UNHCR ‘Background Note’ op cit note 11 at 2. 33 Ibid at 2. 34 Constitution of the Kingdom of Eswatini, 2005, Article 43. This provision applies to children born after 2005. According to the 1992 Citizenship Act the same provisions apply to children born after 1992. 35 Bronwen Manby ‘Statelessness in Southern Africa’ (2012) Briefing paper for the UNHCR at 9. 26 27 28 22