Claiming Equal Citizenship

In the 21st century, we cannot allow situations to exist where women who marry men of other nationalities cannot confer their original nationality to their husbands or children. We cannot allow laws to exist that deny women equal nationality rights and the rights to property and that keep them from their rightful place in society. We stand in solidarity with women across the MENA and Gulf regions in their courageous efforts to gain recognition as equal citizens and nationals of their countries and support wholeheartedly their campaign to participate fully in their societies.

Shalini Nataraj
Vice President of Programs
Global Fund for Women

Posted by WLP on May 23rd, 2007

The right to confer one’s nationality to one’s child is a basic human right from which women in many nations have long been excluded. The efforts of WLP’s Claiming Equal Citizenship Campaign are to be commended. It is about time the world recognized women as full citizens of their own nations.

Janet Afary
Professor of History
Purdue University
Past President Association for Middle East Women’s Studies

Posted by WLP on May 16th, 2007

In a world in which all people must be affiliated with nations, for half of a country’s nationals to possess its nationality while being blocked from enjoying the full rights of citizenship is an egregious affront to the principle of equality, one of the bedrock principles of human rights.

This important campaign to secure equal citizenship for Arab women deserves support from all who believe in the fight to end women’s second class status. It also matters greatly in terms of promising to end the extreme hardships endured by members of families who are afflicted by unfair citizenship rules restricting Arab women’s rights.

Ann Mayer
Associate Professor of Legal Studies
The Wharton School
University of Pennsylvania

Posted by WLP on May 8th, 2007

The new modified Nationality Code was released in the official bulletin on April 2, 2007. I did not read it until today– It was Madame Mezaldi who pointed it out to me. There was a meeting between the interior ministers who decided to put an end to the procedures, in order to make the process simpler.

Continue Reading | Posted by rabea lemrini on May 3rd, 2007

We cannot have two classes of citizenship, one for men and women, and citizenship should not have gender preferences. You have my full support for WLP’s campaign for securing equal citizenship rights for women.

Rend Al-Rahim
The Iraq Foundation

Posted by WLP on May 3rd, 2007