Examples of reform Nawal and Her ChildrenΦ Iraq has made important progress in advancing gender equal nationality rights. Notably, the 2005 Constitution made positive progress towards gender equality by establishing that nationality can be acquired by descent by children born to either an Iraqi mother or father (Article 18, items 1 and 2). Although Iraq’s 2006 nationality law extends the right to confer nationality to children born in Iraq equally to Iraqi men and women, the law limits the ability of Iraqi women to confer nationality on children born outside the country. Nawal explains what this change in law will mean for her children: “I am an Iraqi national married to an Iranian national. I am currently taking all the necessary legal procedures to enable my children to obtain Iraqi citizenship and enjoy the same rights as their peers, including their right to documentation, a passport, and the right to vote. All these privileges were not available under the previous law, where Iraqi women were prohibited from passing their nationality to their children.” –Nawal Nawal and her children, Iraq. © UNHCR G E N D E R D I S C R I M I N AT I O N A N D C H I L D H O O D S TAT E L E S S N E S S 17