Table 2. Discrimination against women in nationality laws
Economies where an unmarried
woman cannot confer citizenship
on her children in the same way as
an unmarried man
Bahrain; Brunei Darussalam; Iran, Islamic Rep.; Iraq; Jordan; Kuwait;
Lebanon; Libya; Malaysia; Mauritania; Nepal; Oman; Qatar; Saudi Arabia;
Swaziland; Syrian Arab Republic; United Arab Emirates; and West Bank and
Gaza
Economies where a married woman cannot confer citizenship on her children in the same way as a married man
Laws with additional
guarantees to ensure
statelessness only arises in
a few cases
Mauritania
Laws with some safeguards
against statelessness
Bahamas, The; Bahrain; Barbados; Burundi;a Guinea; Iraq; Jordan; Kiribati;
Liberia;a Libya; Malaysia; Nepal; Oman; Saudi Arabia; Syrian Arab Republic;
Togo;a United Arab Emirates; and West Bank and Gaza
Laws with no, or very
limited, exceptions
Brunei Darussalam; Iran, Islamic Rep.; Kuwait; Lebanon; Qatar; Somalia;
and Swaziland
Economies where a married
woman cannot confer citizenship
on a nonnational spouse in the
same way as a man
Bahamas, The; Bahrain; Bangladesh; Barbados; Benin; Brunei Darussalam;
Burundia; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Comoros; Congo, Rep.;
Egypt, Arab Rep.; Ghana; Guatemala; Guinea; Haiti; Iran, Islamic Rep.; Iraq;
Jordan; Kiribati; Kuwait; Lebanon; Lesotho; Libya; Madagascar; Malawi;
Malaysia; Mauritania; Morocco; Nepal; Nigeria; Oman; Pakistan; Philippines;
Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Sierra Leone; Singapore; Solomon Islands; St. Lucia;
St. Vincent and the Grenadines; Sudan; Swaziland; Syrian Arab Republic;
Tanzania; Thailand; Togo; Tunisia; United Arab Emirates; and West Bank
and Gaza
Sources: World Bank 2018a; UNHCR 2018.
Note: a. In Burundi, Liberia, and Togo, recent constitutions provide for equal nationality rights for men and women, but
these countries are yet to reform relevant provisions of their nationality laws.
Kuwait,71 Lebanon,72 Qatar,73 and Somalia74 do not allow mothers who are citizens of these countries and
married to stateless men to confer their nationality on their children, even if this prohibition would result in
their children becoming stateless (UNHCR 2018).
However, in other countries, the nationality laws provide for exceptions that allow women to pass their
nationality on to their children when the father is stateless even while discriminating against women on
other grounds.75 These include, for example, Bahrain,76 Guinea,77 Jordan,78 Libya,79 Mauritania,80 and the
United Arab Emirates.81 In Iraq, children born abroad to an Iraqi mother may apply for Iraqi citizenship
when reaching age of majority at 18 when the father is unknown or stateless.82
In Kuwait,83 Qatar,84 and Somalia,85 the mother is not allowed to pass her nationality to children born out of
marriage or to an unknown father. The law of Kuwait, however, allows children of a Kuwaiti mother and a
father who has not recognized them or is unknown to apply for citizenship when reaching age of majority
at 21. Citizenship would in these cases be granted by decree upon the recommendation of the Minister of
the Interior.86 In practice, however, this is an extraordinary measure and rarely occurs (UNHCR 2018).
Nationality laws may also discriminate against women when it comes to women’s ability to confer citizenship
to their nonnational spouses. The Women Business and the Law database, (World Bank, forthcoming), finds
II. Gender-based legal barriers against women to identification
9