Migration Jurisprudence from the South › Botswana
Attorney General v. Unity Dow
Court of Appeal of Botswana · Botswana · 1992-07-03 · National court
Citation: [1992] BLR 119 (CA)
Type of case: Constitutional and human rights
Outcome: Decided for the migrant side
Question
May a mother who is a citizen be unable to pass citizenship to children whose father is foreign?
What the court decided
No. The Citizenship Act discriminated on grounds of sex and was unconstitutional.
In plain language
Botswana’s law gave citizenship to children through their father only. A woman married to an American challenged it. The court said the law was unfair to women.
Dalam bahasa sederhana
UU Botswana memberikan kewarganegaraan kepada anak hanya melalui ayah. Seorang perempuan yang menikah dengan warga AS menggugatnya. Pengadilan menyatakan UU itu tidak adil bagi perempuan.
Pertanyaan: Bolehkah ibu yang warga negara tidak bisa menurunkan kewarganegaraan kepada anak yang ayahnya orang asing?
What happened afterwards
- 1992-07-03: Judgment.
- 1995: Citizenship Act amended.
Sources
Open this decision in the interactive collection (compare, filter, Indonesian view, downloads).
Cite as: Institute for Migrant Rights (2026), Migration Jurisprudence from the South, version 0.1, https://theimr.org/court-decisions/d/bw-unity-dow-1992/. This page summarizes a court decision for research and advocacy; it is not legal advice.