The name of Afghan women finally registered on identity cards

The names of mothers will be printed on Afghan national identity cards, a step in normalizing the public presence of women in a country where it remains taboo.

Afghan citizens will soon have their mother's name imprinted with their father's name on their national identity card. Small victory for women after years of campaigning to end the shame of being associated with female names in public. This new law is seen as a small boost for women's rights, especially as the future of women's role in Afghan society is currently at stake as the government prepares to start negotiations on a sharing agreement. power with the Taliban.

When the Taliban were in power, women found themselves confined to their homes and stripped of basic rights such as education and access to paid employment. Since they were overthrown, Afghanistan has continued to improve the condition of women in society. Now, millions of girls attend schools and universities across the country, and women hold important government jobs. However, activists reveal that a misogyny justified by religiosity is still deeply rooted in the customs of the country.

Being associated with a woman is taboo in Afghanistan. For example, young schoolchildren often fight if someone mentions their mother or sister's name, an act considered dishonor. Even most women's graves never include their names, only those of male relatives.

Women, especially widows, increasingly try to assert themselves as legal guardians of their children in government offices or to conduct business transactions on their behalf without a man present.

The census law to include the mother’s name on the national identity card is a first step for Afghan women to obtain recognition and enjoy an identity independent of that of the men in their family.

“Most of the limits placed on women in society have no basis in religion, and I became aware of this during my four years of studying Islamic law. In Islam, there is no nothing that limits the identity of women. But in our society, they associate all limitations – even on the identity of women – with religion. "said Laleh Osmany, one of the campaign’s early supporters #WhereIsMyName? which made a lot of noise on social networks.

The change to the identification system "aims to restore the most fundamental and natural right of women". "By printing her name, we give the mother power, and the law gives her certain authority to be a mother who can, without the presence of a man, obtain documents for her children, enroll her children in school , travel…", concludes the young woman.

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