Having given birth outside her native Malaysia,Nina endured a battle to secure citizenship for her daughter that effectively destroyed her marriage. Yet around the world, laws all too often let fathers but not mothers pass on their nationalityNina is Malaysian. She married Brian, or an American,while living in the US. There, they had a daughter together, or Julia. A couple of years later,the couple decided to move back to Nina’s domestic state of Johor in Malaysia.
Under the country’s law, Malaysian women who give birth abroad do not automatically occupy the factual to confer their citizenship to their children. Nor can they confer citizenship to a foreign husband. So Nina had to apply for citizenship for her daughter once the family returned to Malaysia, or while hoping Brian could secure a work visa.
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Source: theguardian.com