Which countries divide children as legitimate and illegitimate?
<p>Back in the 1990s in Chile, the law separating legitimate and illegitimate children was abolished and all children started to have the same rights. I'm not sure, but I think the term &quot;illegimitate&quot; was remove from the law altogether.</p>
<p>Of course, this wreaked havoc at first since many &quot;hidden children&quot; had rights to be visited and were allowed access to a range of rights overnight. Most official wives knew about the existence of those &quot;children on the side&quot; but preferred to ignore and shun them, and to keep them away from any rights. Well... it took a few months (maybe more), but finally all was normalized and accepted.</p>
<p>Now, I was surprised to learn that in many countries this difference still exists. Of course, this is only my ignorance speaking. I should have known better.</p>
<p>How can I find out in which countries does this difference still exist? Is there any map that clearly shows which ones implement it (and to what degree) and which ones do not?</p>

<p>You can look <a href="https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&amp;q=legal%20status%20of%20illegitimate%20children" rel="noreferrer">here</a> for various sources on the legal status of children born &quot;out of wedlock&quot;, however most of that discussion is focused on European legal systems. <a href="https://islamqa.info/en/answers/230367/what-is-the-ruling-on-calling-an-illegitimate-child-after-the-father" rel="noreferrer">This page</a> states what the situation is under Islamic law (the majority view seems to be that the child is &quot;the child of no-one&quot;). <a href="https://www.textroad.com/pdf/JBASR/J.%20Basic.%20Appl.%20Sci.%20Res.,%203(4)254-262,%202013.pdf" rel="noreferrer">This article</a> specifically compares illegitimate children in Iran vs. England, indicating that Iran follows the majority interpretation.</p>
<p>Indian law is complicated because of the various sub-varieties of family law – Muslims follow Muslim family law, Hindus follow Hindu family law, and so on. <a href="https://legiteye.com/illegitimate-children-and-the-law-a-primer-on-the-rights-of-children-born-out-of-wedlock-in-india-by-prachi-dutta/" rel="noreferrer">Here</a> is a brief summary of Indian law. One point to be taken from this is that there is a difference between the status of a child whose parents are in a void or voidable marriage, vs. no marriage at all. Kenya likewise has more than one kind of family law, plus a constitutional change. So see <a href="http://kenyalaw.org/caselaw/cases/view/152332" rel="noreferrer">this case</a> which relies on an older tradition that if a man and woman have a child but don't get married, the child is not legally the child of the man, but also see the <a href="https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Kenya_2010.pdf" rel="noreferrer">Constitution of 2010</a> Art 27(4)</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The State shall not discriminate directly or indirectly against any
person on any ground, including race, sex, pregnancy, marital status,
health status, ethnic or social origin, colour, age, disability,
religion, conscience, belief, culture, dress, language or birth.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>and especially Art 53 (1e) where every child has the right</p>
<blockquote>
<p>to parental care and protection, which includes equal responsibility
of the mother and father to provide for the child, whether they are
married to each other or not.</p>
</blockquote>

marriage children legal-research