2021 Statelessness & Citizenship Review 3(1) While we wait for the NRC exclusion appeals to unfold, it is imperative that policy makers are alerted to the high risk of marginalisation that women face. India may not be a signatory to the statelessness conventions, but its actions are in contravention of its obligations under other human rights instruments, notably the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. 53 The Assam case requires our urgent attention — else we face the prospect of normalising the mass statelessness of half a million women, who have been citizens, but are arbitrarily at risk of deprivation of citizenship. We aspire for targeted steps to be taken to provide effective protection for this marginalised population, so that their rights and dignity are preserved in the true spirit of participatory democracy. 153° CEDAW (n 13). 258