Women and Citizenship in Sudan and South Sudan: A Comparative Analysis
Published: 1/Nov/2016
Source: Birkbeck Law Review
By Nasredeen Abdulbari
Volume 4 Issue 1, November 2016
Incompatibilities between national laws, on the one hand, and international law, human rights rules and principles of citizenship with regard to women, their children (who are born to a foreign father) and alien husbands, on the other, are not uncommon in many countries in Africa and elsewhere. This article comparatively analyses the right of women to acquire citizenship on an equal basis to men in Sudan and South Sudan. It touches on their equally important right to pass on their citizenship to their alien husbands or their children who are born to an alien father. The article further analyses some of the detrimental consequences of depriving women of their full citizenship rights on their enjoyment of their rights, in addition to particular difficulties they face in human-made or natural disaster situations. As deprivation of citizenship is a form of humiliation with deleterious legal, social and political consequences on women, their children and their alien husbands, it is necessary that Sudan takes steps to ensure that Sudanese nationality law is compatible with the Interim Constitution of Sudan 2005 and international law. Reform efforts should not only be focused on laws, but should also target outdated views and cultures.
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