At independence, most countries in Africa discriminated on the basis of gender in the rules on transmission of citizenship to children and spouses. In recent years, however, nationality laws have increasingly been reformed to reduce or remove gender discrimination.
A substantial majority of African countries now give men and women equal rights to transmit nationality to their children; and roughly half provide equal rights to transmit nationality to a spouse.
These reforms are in line with the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) which prohibits discrimination in nationality law on the basis of gender: all African countries except Sudan and Somalia are parties to this treaty.
By Kwanele Dlamini amd Mbongiseni Na MBABANE – Government has been taken to court over the legislation that prevents women, whose children are fathered by foreigners, from transferring citizenship to their children through birth. It is argued that depriving Eswatini […]
By Vitalio Angula WINDHOEK, NAMIBIA — The Supreme Court of Namibia has ruled in favor of recognizing same-sex marriages from other countries, making Namibia only the second nation on the continent to do so after South Africa. A small group […]
WINDHOEK – Namibia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday recognised same-sex marriages contracted abroad between citizens and foreign spouses, a landmark ruling in a country where homosexuality is illegal. The decision overturns a ruling reached last year by the High Court, which […]
On April 12, 2023, the Egyptian House of Representatives approved new modifications to Law No. 26 of 1975 on Citizenship. The new amendments pertain to articles 6 and 11 of the Citizenship Law. New Amendments Amendment to Article 6 Under the new […]
CAIRO – 12 April 2023: The House of Representatives approved Wednesday the amendment of Article 6 of law no. 26/1975 on the Egyptian citizenship, granting women of foreign origin the right to pass the nationality to their minor children whose […]
by Werner Menges A FOUR-YEAR-OLD boy at the centre of a legal battle about his nationality will have Namibian citizenship by descent once his birth has been registered at the ministry of home affairs or a Namibian diplomatic mission outside […]
By Roland Routh Five judges of the Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the Windhoek High Court was wrong when it ordered the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration to grant citizenship to the child of same-sex couple Phillip Lühl […]
By Vitalio Angula WINDHOEK, NAMIBIA — Gay rights activists in Namibia are decrying a Supreme Court decision that will effectively deny citizenship to a child born through surrogacy to a same-sex couple in South Africa. The case has ignited public […]
Namibia’s Supreme Court on Monday overturned a decision by a lower court to grant citizenship to a gay couple’s son who was born in neighbouring South Africa through surrogacy. In 2021 the High Court had granted the child citizenship after […]
Nationality laws which do not grant women equality with men in conferring nationality on their children are a cause of statelessness and a concern for UNHCR. Since 2012, UNHCR has, in line with its mandate to prevent and reduce statelessness, […]
By Molemo Mothoa Home Affairs has again been urged to ensure that the National Health Laboratory Service conducts free DNA tests for indigent South Africans where such a test is required to prove one’s South African citizenship. This follows the […]
By Christina Beninger and Rashida Manjoo AHMR Volume 8 Number 3 September – December 2022 Abstract Gender discrimination, both direct and indirect, is a leading cause of statelessness worldwide. Most often, direct discrimination is reflected in patriarchal nationality laws that […]