by Jane A Morse

The United States is working for reform of nationality laws that hurt women, says Maria Otero, the State Department's under secretary for democracy and global affairs.

Nationality laws discriminate against women in at least 30 countries, Otero said at a Refugees International event October 25 at the U.S. Institute of Peace. These laws, she said, limit women's ability to acquire, retain and transmit citizenship to their children.

"In many cases, nationality laws permit only the father to transmit citizenship to his child," Otero said. "And in still other cases, nationality laws strip women of their citizenship upon marriage to a foreign spouse, or prohibit women's foreign spouses from naturalization."

The result is that hundreds of thousands of women are left without legal protection or a social safety net, she said.

"Stateless persons typically lack identity documentation and cannot register births, marriages or deaths. They often cannot work legally or travel freely. They cannot vote, open a bank account, or own property and they often lack access to health care and other public services," Otero said.

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