Colonial Legacies in Syrian Nationality Law majority of the Western academic literature fails to mention this colonial heritage and present gender inequality laws in Syria as a result of religious tradition or cultural ‘backwardness’. 136 The patria potestas principle introduced by France is translated in art 30 of the current Syrian Nationality Law, which provides that ‘a minor shall have their father’s nationality’. 137 This patriarchal rule also means that only Syrian men can pass on their citizenship to their spouse. 138 Consequently, this example illustrates how citizenship regulation and statelessness can be the expression of both patriarchy 139 and colonialism. 140 The introduction of patriarchal provisions within nationality legislation is one of the major causes of statelessness in Syria. B The Impact of Gender-Based Discrimination on Statelessness Gender-based discrimination in nationality rules has been identified as one of the main causes of statelessness. 141 Paternal jus sanguinis can lead to statelessness in situations whereby the father is stateless, unknown, has died before registering the child or simply refuses to recognise the child. In order to prevent such a situation, art 3 of the Syrian Nationality Law allows the acquisition of nationality to: ‘anyone born in the country to a Syrian Arab mother and whose legal family relationship to his father has not been established’. 142 Nonetheless, this provision fails to tackle statelessness properly because it only concerns children born within the country and therefore excludes the ones born in exile. It furthermore refers to the status of the father instead of focusing on the risk of statelessness the child faces per se. As a result, art 3 is rarely implemented in practice 143 because children born to unknown fathers face a series of bureaucratic barriers and social obstacles. 144 Notably, there is a strong social stigma surrounding children born out of wedlock 145 or within terrorist organisations. 146 Gender-biased laws are ‘particularly hard on less-educated women, frequently from rural [areas], who married foreigners and had no resources for tracking the father or pursuing nationality claims for their children’. 147 On the other hand, communities from 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 Zantout (n 115) 9. Syrian Nationality Law (n 2) art 30. ibid art 18. Deirdre Brennan, ‘Statelessness and the Feminist Toolbox: Another Man-Made Problem with a Feminist Solution?’ (2019) 24(2) Tilburg Law Review 170. Hilary Charlesworth, Christine Chinkin and Shelley Wright, ‘Feminist Approaches to International Law’ (1991) 85(4) The American Journal of International Law 613. Zahra Albarazi and Laura van Waas, ‘Towards the Abolition of Gender Discrimination in Nationality Laws’ [2014] 46 Forced Migration Review 49; Neda Shaheen, ‘Discriminatory Nationality Laws Must Be Eliminated in Order to Eradicate Statelessness’ (2018) 11(2) DePaul Journal for Social Justice 1. Syrian Nationality Law (n 2) art 3(b), (c), (d), (e). Laura van Waas and Zahra Albarazi, ‘Transformations of Nationality Legislation in North Africa’ in Engin F Isin and Peter Nyers (eds), Routledge Handbook of Global Citizenship (Routledge 2014) 208. Albarazi (n 10) 23. Nationality and Causes of Statelessness in the Middle East and North Africa Report (Report, The Legal Agenda 2016) <https://english.legal-agenda.com/nationality-and-cases-ofstatelessness-in-the-middle-east-and-north-africa/> (‘Legal Agenda Report 2016’). Betsy Fisher, ‘Why Non-Martial Children in the MENA Region Face a Risk of Statelessness’, Harvard Human Rights Journal (online, 2015) <https://harvardhrj.com/2015/01/why-nonmarital-children-in-the-mena-region-face-a-risk-of-statelessness/>. Khadija Elmadmad, ‘Les réfugiés et les apatrides au Maroc: des étrangers pas comme les autres’ [2011] Numéro Spécial de la Revue de l’Université Moulay Ismail à Meknès 67. 21