Give Women Equal Rights to Confer Nationality on Their Children

Malaysia is one of only 25 countries in the world, that does not grant women the right to confer nationality on their children on an equal basis as men. This despite the fact that Constitution also stating that that there shall be no discrimination against citizens based on religion, race, ethnicity, place of birth or gender. The Association of Family Support & Welfare Selangor & KL (Family Frontiers), an umbrella body for the Foreign Spouses Support Group, has long been campaigning for gender equality in citizenship laws in the country, and filed a suit in December last year, to uphold the principle of equality in the Federal Constitution, as well as Malaysia’s commitment to international conventions on gender equality. We get some updates on that suit from Suri Kempe, the President of the Association of Family Support & Welfare Selangor & Kuala Lumpur (Family Frontiers) and Josil Murray, an affected mother and member of the Foreign Spouses Support Group.