Pakistan

In 2020, the CEDAW observed that Section 10 of the Citizenship Act of 1951 disabled Pakistani women from transmitting their nationality to a foreign spouse on an equal footing with Pakistani men. This form of gender discrimination in nationality law becomes apparent in people’s lives when mothers with foreign spouses (or where the father is absent or unknown) seek birth registration for their children. This legal provision reinforces gender inequality in citizenship rights and creates potential pathways to statelessness for their children.