II. Gender-based legal barriers against women to identification Gender-based legal barriers against women to obtaining identification exist when laws or regulations make access to identification more difficult or burdensome for women. These barriers are more common for married women, who often need to be accompanied by a male guardian, or provide additional information or documentation not required of married men, such as the name of the husband or the family booklet or marriage certificate when applying for identification. The World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law provides information on countries that place limitations on women’s ability to apply for identification. In 35 countries, a married woman cannot apply for a passport through the same process as married men, and in 11 countries married women cannot apply for an ID in the same way as married men. Only three countries apply the same restrictions to unmarried women (table 1). Women also face legal barriers when trying to register the birth of their children and obtain birth certificates for them. For example, in some countries, the father is legally responsible for registering the birth of a child; in others, birth registration is contingent on the existence of a marital relationship between parents. We explore these limitations in more detail in the sections below. Table 1: Gender-based legal differences in access to identification Countries where unmarried women cannot apply for a national ID card in the same way as men Afghanistan, Oman, and Saudi Arabia Countries where married women cannot apply for a national ID card in the same way as married men Afghanistan; Algeria; Benin; Cameroon; Congo, Rep.; Egypt, Arab Rep.; Mauritius; Namibia; Oman; Pakistan; and Saudi Arabia Countries where unmarried women cannot apply for a passport in the same way as men Jordan and Saudi Arabia Countries where married women cannot apply for a passport in the same way as married men Algeria; Bahrain; Barbados; Belize; Benin; Botswana; Cameroon; Congo, Rep.; Cyprus; Dominica; Egypt, Arab Rep.; Fiji; Gabon; Guyana; Haiti; Iran, Islamic Rep.; Jordan; Madagascar; Malawi; Mali; Myanmar; Nigeria; Oman; Pakistan; Philippines; Samoa; Saudi Arabia; Seychelles; Solomon Islands; St. Vincent and the Grenadines; Sudan; Trinidad and Tobago; United Arab Emirates; Yemen, Rep.; and Zambia. Source: World Bank 2018a. World Bank forthcoming. 4 ACHIEVING UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO ID: GENDER-BASED LEGAL BARRIERS AGAINST WOMEN AND GOOD PRACTICE REFORMS