The consequences of such laws are twofold: 1. Women may be pressured or required to give up their own nationality to obtain their spouse’s upon statelessness marriage – in cases divorce be prevented of risking Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol, 2003) or widowhood. 2. Women may from passing Treaty body: African Commission on nationality to their children due to biases Human and People’s Rights favouring patrilineal descent. Placing children Ratification status: 44 African States whose fathers are unknown, unable (e.g. due Key article(s): Article 6(g) and (h) to being stateless themselves), or unwilling to register the child at risk of statelessness. The Maputo Protocol reinforces CEDAW in the The CEDAW Committee’s Recommendation No. 32 General recognises the gendered dimensions of statelessness,[10] emphasising that even where gender-neutral laws exist, women may still face indirect African context. However, its provisions weakened by an exception legislation” or “national nationality are allowing “national on security interests” to limit women’s ability to pass nationality to their children. gender discrimination through policies or practices that make it harder to obtain Article 6(g) guarantees women the right to documents for themselves or their children retain e.g. nationality of their spouse denial or withholding of proof of birth forms Article 6(h) grants women equal rights with men by hospitals to transmit nationality to their children, except demands for extra-legal requirements e.g. where doing so is “contrary to a provision in DNA testing national legislation” or “contrary to national requirements for both parents to appear at security interests” their nationality or to acquire the birth registration (prejudicing single mothers) imposition of financial penalties for late The exception in Article 6(h) allows registration of birth discriminatory nationality laws to remain in place under the guise of custom, religion, or “security”.[11] [10] CEDAW Committee General Recommendation No. 32: on the gender related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women’ (2014) CEDAW/C/GC/32. [11] Annika Rudman, Celestine Nyamu-Musembi, and Trésor Muhindo Makunya (eds) The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa: A Commentary (PULP, 2023) 144 – 145 and 155 – 156. 18