The State We’re In: Ending Sexism in Nationality Laws – 2022 Edition – Update for a Disrupted World

We have seen good progress in achieving equality in nationality laws with 19 countries making partial or full legal reforms and making significant commitments at the regional and global levels since Equality Now began in-depth work advocating for the reform of sex discriminatory nationality and citizenship laws globally almost a decade ago. Since the March 2016 launch of The State We’re In: Ending Sexism in Nationality Laws alone, four countries we highlighted – Guinea, Lesotho, Nauru, and the Solomon Islands – have achieved full legal equality in nationality rights, and another eight have achieved important reforms or taken important steps towards reform. Feminist movements and coalitions, including the Global Campaign for Equality Nationality Rights of which Equality Now is a founding steering committee member, have contributed significantly to this progress.

Despite this progress, sex-discriminatory nationality laws still exist, however, in 47 countries (25% of UN member states).

Discriminatory nationality laws have an enormous impact on women and their families, often violating their rights to health, education, employment, and non-discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, and religion, etc. They also limit women’s participation in public life.

As the world begins to build back from the COVID-19 pandemic, we hope governments will find new inspiration to undertake all necessary legal reforms so that all women and men can enjoy equal nationality rights and participate as full citizens at all levels of society.

Updates:

Iraq: The 2017 proposed amendments were never adopted. The Annex below has now been updated.

Benin reformed its nationality law at the end of December 2022 so there is now complete equality.

At the end of July 2022, Liberia passed into law an Act to amend and or nullify certain provisions of the Alien and Nationality Law, ensuring women and men’s equal right to confer nationality on their children.

In November 2023, Iran repealed its 2019 amendment to the Law on Determining the Nationality of Children Born from a Marriage of Iranian Women and Foreign Men, upon approval of the National Residency Organization Plan. Although the amendment did not create full equality between men and women – children born to non-Iranian fathers were still required to apply for nationality and pass a security check, whereas children born to Iranian men obtain citizenship automatically at birth – it was a significant step in the right direction. Without the amendment, children born to non-Iranian fathers within Iran are now only granted citizenship once they reach the age of 18 and have lived in the country for more than a year, and children born to non-Iranian fathers outside of Iran may be granted citizenship once they reach the age of 18 and have lived in the country for more than five years.

Learn about more progress in our 2023 report update here.

Download the report

Download the Executive Summary

Download the Annex of Laws