1.2.3. The Right to a Nationality and Specific Vulnerable Groups The international and African legal frameworks recognise that statelessness does not affect everyone equally. Women, children, persons with disabilities, refugees, and migrants face heightened risks because of systemic inequalities, discrimination, and structural barriers. These groups therefore require tailored protections. 1.2.3.1. Women Women’s nationality rights are central to gender equality and to preventing statelessness. Yet in many African countries, discriminatory laws and practices continue to deny women equal rights to acquire, retain, change, or pass on nationality. When women cannot pass nationality to their children or face barriers in retaining their own nationality, entire generations—may families—and become future stateless. Discrimination against women is therefore both a cause and a multiplier of statelessness. Key advocacy priorities: Civil society can play a critical role in promoting gender-equal nationality rights by: advocating for domestic reforms to align nationality laws with CEDAW and the Maputo Protocol urging States to ratify CEDAW and the Maputo Protocol and to remove reservations on nationality-related treaty provisions promoting public awareness on how discriminatory nationality laws affect women and children supporting strategic litigation before national courts and regional human rights bodies to challenge discriminatory nationality laws Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw, 1979) Article 9(1) guarantees women the right to retain their nationality or to acquire the nationality of their Treaty body: CEDAW Committee spouse Ratification status: 52 African States Key article(s): Article 9 (1) and (2) Article 9(2) grants women equal rights with men to pass nationality to their children CEDAW is the cornerstone global treaty for gender These provisions aim to eliminate nationality rules equality, including in nationality matters.[8] based on patriarchal ideas such as “dependent nationality” – where a woman automatically acquires her husband’s nationality – or “unity of nationality of the family” – where a man is assumed to determine the family’s nationality.[9] [8] See also Convention on the Nationality of Married Women (1957). [9] International Law Association Committee on Feminism and International Law, Final Report on Women’s Equality and Nationality in International Law, London, 2000. 17