Discrimination is one of the most powerful and persistent forces behind statelessness in Africa. It shapes who is recognised as a citizen, who can access documentation, and who is excluded from nationality systems. Across the continent, discriminatory laws, policies, and practices fuel statelessness and deepen marginalisation. Discrimination may be written directly into nationality laws or may occur in the way these laws are implemented. It can be based on gender, sex, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, political affiliation, or perceived origin. Examples include: Gender discrimination in nationality laws Ethnic or racial discrimination, where that certain groups are historically labelled prevent women from passing nationality to their children on an equal as basis “foreign,” even when they have lived in a with men. Where fathers are absent, unknown, unwilling, or unable to “non-indigenous,” “migrant,” or country for generations register the child, these children may be rendered stateless. Religious where or political nationality is discrimination, ·Administrative withheld officials apply documentation rules more or discrimination, arbitrarily—against where withdrawn from individuals or groups strictly—or certain due to their perceived allegiances or groups, resulting in exclusion from birth identities registration or identity documents. In practice, discrimination determines who is recognised as belonging and who is denied nationality, making it both a cause and a consequence of statelessness. It cuts across every other factor, deepening the exclusion faced by affected communities. 12