Grand Challenge 7
Getting to Women’s
Equal Citizenship: What
Hurts and What Works
“…what advice would you give in the context where women do
not perceive that are discriminated against whereas factually /
legally they are, but there isn’t this perception because they are
in positions where they don’t see it as an issue?”
Moderator:
Annika Markovic
H. E., Ambassador of
Sweden to the Netherlands
Panelists:
Deepti Gurung
Activist &
ISI Advisory Council
Catherine Harrington
Global Campaign for Equal
Nationality Rights
Habiba Al-Hinai
Omani Association for
Human Rights
Allison Petrozziello
Wilfred Laurier University
Grand Challenge 9
Realising the Right
of Every Child to a
Nationality
Moderator:
Laura van Waas
ISI
Panelists:
Neha Gurung
Activist
Gerard-Rene de Groot
Maastricht University
Kerry Neal
UNICEF
Rabiaa Benlahbib
Creative Court
Benyam Mezmur
UN Committee on the
Rights of the Child
Conference Participant
UNHCR Bahamas
Representative
Grand Challenge 7 ‘Getting to Women’s Equal Citizenship: What Hurts and What
Works’ explored and critiqued efforts to realise global law reform, focusing on
arguments that resonate and barriers to reform that prevent gender equality
in the equal access to citizenship. With activists such as Deepti Gurung and
Habiba Al-Hinai as panelists, some very personal accounts of what it is like to
encounter statelessness and discrimination, and to fight for equality were shared.
In their experience, patriarchal power structures mainly create and shape the
experiences of stateless persons. In the face of such injustice, stand many
powerful female voices claiming their rights. There is an increasing momentum at
both the global and national levels to eliminate gender-discriminatory nationality
laws. The knock-on effect of gender discriminatory legislation on childhood
stateless was considered in Grand Challenge 9 ‘Realising the Right of Every
Child to a Nationality. While efforts to realise children’s right to nationality are
underway, more children are born into statelessness every year and as a result,
statelessness is a growing phenomenon.
Nepalese activist and inspiration/protagonist of ISI’s children’s book ‘The Girl
Who Lost Her Country’ Neha Gurung, recounted her family’s experience of
statelessness in Nepal, and their struggle to challenge the injustice they were
subjected to. She poignantly asked
“Why was I denied a citizenship certificate?
How was I trapped in my own country? What
did the world gain from stopping me from
living as a free human being?”
The session looked at international and national legal standards and practices
related to the child’s right to a nationality, and considered the general lack of
understanding of the right to nationality and the need for increased ‘statelessness
literacy’ among stakeholders, as well as the importance of ensuring the voices of
those affected are heard and child human rights defenders are recognised.
Bachir in Wonderland
Directed by Els Duran and Evelien Vehof, produced by Kiyomi Molin, and
introduced by Rabiaa Benlahbib during Grand Challenge 9, ‘Bachir in Wonderland’
follows stateless 10-year old West Saharan, Bachir, as he travels to Spain for
summer camp during the holidays. With dreams of swimming the sea, Bachir
embarks on his journey and experiences a whole new way of life in Spain.
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