What is the impact of gender discrimination in nationality laws on children? Gender discrimination in nationality laws places many children worldwide at risk of statelessness and can result in wide-ranging violations of children’s rights, including obstacles to family unity, freedom of movement, access to education, healthcare, and social services, the right to an inheritance, and freedom from child marriage, in addition to other hardships and rights violations. The exclusion caused by gender discrimination in nationality laws and policies contributes to psychological distress and marginalization, while denying children the chance to follow their dreams to pursue certain professions. Countries also suffer and sustainable development is inhibited when such children are prevented from fully contributing to society. In more than fifty countries women are denied equal rights with men to confer nationality on foreign spouses. Due to the associated challenges of securing residency permits and employment for foreign spouses, women’s inability to equally confer nationality on spouses threatens family unity and children’s ability to know and be cared for by both of their parents. 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 Gender discrimination in nationality laws also perpetuates women’s unequal status in society and the family, sending a message to girls that they are not equal citizens because of their gender. According to the Constitution of The Bahamas, women cannot pass their nationality to their children born abroad on an equal basis with married men. “To not have the ability to confer citizenship to my child, on the basis of my gender alone, is disheartening and dehumanizing. Why should I as a woman not hold the same rights as a man in the same situation? I hope that the Government will address this issue very soon, as so many families are adversely affected by these disparities in the nationality laws” – Bahamian mother 9