Malaysian Mothers Speak Up for Equal Citizenship: #sayaJUGAanakMalaysia
In this video the Malaysian Campaign for Equal Citizenship – a Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights coalition member – highlights first-person accounts of mothers who have been unable to secure Malaysian citizenship for their children, due to gender discrimination in the country’s nationality law.
Malaysia is one of twenty-five countries globally with a law that denies women the same right as men to pass citizenship to their children. While married Malaysian men automatically confer nationality on children born abroad, Malaysian women are denied the same right. Malaysia is also one of only three countries globally that denies men the same rights as women to confer nationality on children born outside of legal marriage, including children born inside Malaysia. Malaysian women are also denied the right to confer nationality on a non-national spouse, a right reserved for men. These discrimnatory provisions are a root cause of statelessness and a range of other human rights violations.