Afghanistan Times
Related Articles
AT News
KABUL: The announcement of the approval of the bill to include the mother’s name in the National Identity Cards (NIDs) has been met mostly with a positive response from the people and women’s rights activists in Afghanistan.
Earlier reports revealed that the Afghan Cabinet’s legislations committee has approved the draft about the inclusion of mothers’ names in NIDs. Sarwar Danesh, the second vice president, reported that the plan was reviewed and approved at a meeting of the committee on Tuesday.
These amendments to the population registration law are expected to happen after the endorsement of the recently introduced cabinet by the parliament. The plan comes as there has been a three-year campaign waged by women rights activists on social media under the title “Where is my name?”
Some people welcome the new plan and have already started introducing themselves as follows: “Minapal is the son of Zuleykha and that I am Shukria Barakzai, my mother’s name is Aziza Barakzai.” They happily mention their mothers’ names.
Kabul resident Samiullah considered it right to write the mother’s name on the ID card and criticized its opponents: “My name is Samiullah and my mother’s name is Shukria.”
He said that “if the father’s name is written on the ID card, writing the mother’s name is not a shame either because the names of the mother and sister of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) are known to the whole world.”
But Mohammad Waris, who came to Kabul from Laghman, said the villagers were not ready to accept such a scheme: “We shared this idea with other people but they do not want it. Our society isn’t so progressive to accept such a thing.”
Hedda Raha, a women’s rights activist, said she faced many security and social problems during the campaign, but was now happy that the cabinet committee had accepted the request: “Paying attention to religious and social beliefs, I endured many problems and criticisms throughout the journey.”
Raha urged the Wolesi Jirga to approve the plan to include the mother’s name in the ID card.
Meanwhile, Shahla Farid, a social affairs expert, said the recent proposal could be a step towards ensuring women’s rights: “This is not a problem at the global and Islamic level. It is culturally problematic. Our people are in the 21st century; they are literate but they aren’t aware of people who want justice so that there is no problem raised against the law. People should be made aware of and accustomed to this idea religiously and culturally. “
If the bill is approved by the cabinet and approved by the National Assembly, it will be the first time that the mother’s name will be written on the Afghan citizenship card, which will reduce the conservatives’ sensitivity about mentioning women.
