A circular issued by the Department of National Id and Civil Registration under the Home Ministry on Wednesday has been widely criticized for snubbing the rights of a woman once again.
The circular for implementation down to the ward level prescribes that the surname of the maternal side (instead of the mother’s) be assigned to the child while registering the birth at the current address of the mother if the child is born before marriage but the child’s father is not identified, and the mother has married since and is staying with her husband along with the child.
It similarly prescribes that the surname of the maternal side be assigned to the child while registering the birth at the address of the maternal side if the child is born before marriage but the child’s father is not identified, and the mother has married since and is staying with her husband but the child is staying with her parents.
The circular further prescribes that the birth registered as per the two provisions be revoked and the birth again registered at the current address of the father with the surname of the father if the identity of the child’s father is later revealed.
The department argues that the provision of using the surname of maternal side has been kept to address the problems faced by children of a single mother but the circular has been widely condemned claiming that the circular has intentionally snubbed the mothers.
“Our intention was not to belittle anyone. We don’t feel that a woman is a nobody. We only aimed to provide identity to the child,” Director of the department Nava Raj Jaishi told Setopati when asked whether giving the surname of the mother at the time of the child’s birth does not mean the same thing and would not have served the purpose. “Many comments have been made after the circular was issued. We will correct language of the circular if needed and there are demands to change that.”
The circular has humiliatingly snubbed mothers despite the previous circular issued by the Home Ministry on October 24, 2022 clearly specifying to give the surname of the mother. The new circular mentions that the new one had to be issued as the local bodies and staffers complained that the previous circular was not clear.
