GENDER DISCRIMINATION IN NATIONALITY LAW AS A COLONIAL LEGACY: A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON BOTSWANA AND SENEGAL

Abstract

This comparative socio-legal study examines how gender-discriminatory nationality laws in Botswana and Senegal emerged from British and French colonial legal frameworks. The purpose of the study is to analyse how these colonial-era codes institutionalised patrilineal descent and restricted women’s ability to transmit nationality to their children. Using a qualitative comparative methodology grounded in feminist legal theory and postcolonial legal theory, the study reviews constitutional cases, legislative reforms and international legal instruments. The findings show that both countries-maintained gender-biased nationality laws for decades after independence, treating women as secondary citizens and increasing the risk of statelessness for their children. The analysis demonstrates that reform occurred through different pathways: Botswana through the 1992 Unity Dow v. Attorney General constitutional case and Senegal through legislative amendment in 2013. The study finds that international human rights instruments, particularly CEDAW and the 1961 Statelessness Convention, along with domestic advocacy, played a critical role in catalysing these reforms. Overall, the research shows how postcolonial states can dismantle patriarchal colonial norms and achieve gender-equal citizenship through rights-based legal transformation.

Keywords: Gender discrimination; Nationality law; Colonial legacy; Botswana; Senegal.