APF member Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch report findings (2024) Women in marriages conducted by religious leaders but not registered with the Personal Status Court face severe challenges in accessing government services and social protection. Unregistered marriages are often done as a way to circumvent laws on child marriage, polygamy, and forced marriage and to evade having to pay spousal maintenance in case of divorce. Without a civil marriage certificate, women are unable to give birth in government hospitals, access social services, obtain birth certificates for their children, or have legal recourse to claim spousal maintenance or child support in the event of divorce The political climate toward LGBT people is more hostile. A Bill introduced that would impose the death penalty or life in prison for same-sex conduct and imprisonment for transgender expression. Authorities ordered media to replace the term “homosexuality” with “sexual deviance.” Activists and NGO workers in the threatened with arrest warrants in regard to their work and activism for LGBTI people’s rights. Jordan A new law granted Jordanian women married to non-Jordanian men the right to retain their nationality, but they remained unable to pass their nationality to their spouse and children. Discriminatory laws leave women exposed to violence. In March, parliament approved amendments to the Labour Law, which included imposing fines of JOD 2,000-5,000 on individuals found responsible for sexual harassment in the workplace. The Law does not allow Jordanian women married to non-Jordanians to pass on nationality. And while non-citizen children of Jordanian women no longer need work permits, many professions remain closed to them. Attacks on the rights of LGBTI people intensify in Jordan with some parliamentarians spearheading an anti-LGBTI campaign, calling for samesex sexual relations to be criminalized, triggering hate speech and threats against LGBTI individuals and supporters. The authorities continue to use the Penal Code’s “immorality” provisions to target LGBTI individuals, even though same-sex sexual relations are not criminalized by law. Kazakhstan Widespread violence against women and girls continued and domestic violence is not criminalized. In April 2023, Kazakhstan strengthened legal protections for women, including after repeated acts of family abuse (a provision that had empowered abusers), enabling police to impose administrative penalties on aggressors without a survivor’s complaint. Almaty city authorities continue to interfere in activists’ efforts to protest on March 8, International Women’s Day Gender Baseline Assessment of NHRIs in the Asia Pacific region – July 2024 43