Ghani approves inclusion of mother name on national IDs

President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani in a decree has the inclusion of the mother’s name on the Afghan National Identity cards (Tazkiras).

“Based on the Presidential decree, the mother’s name is officially included on the national identity cards (Tazkiras), along with other personal details,” said Sediq Sediqqi, Spokesman for the President on Thursday.

Earlier this month, Afghanistan’s Cabinet Committee on Legislation had approved a bill to amend the Population Registration Act for including a mother’s name on Tazkiras.

Before this amendment, the Afghan National Identity Documents only carried the name of a person’s father.

This development comes after women’s rights activists launched the (#WhereIsMyName) campaign three years ago demanding a mother’s name should be included in official documents.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Organization welcomed the move noting that the reform will have important real-life consequences, “making it easier for women to obtain education, health care, and passports and other documentation for their children, and to travel with their children.”

“It will be especially significant for women who are widowed, divorced, separated, or dealing with abusive partners,” the organization said in a statement Friday.

The struggle for women’s rights in Afghanistan has been long and hard, and many Afghan women fear their rights could be rolled back in the negotiations.

Despite changes since 2001 that have seen women gain more rights, discrimination against them remains severe and pervasive.

This new law is a confidence boost and reminder of the many battles Afghan women’s rights activists have fought – and won – since 2001. One of their hardest battles is ahead of them, at the negotiating table; the Afghan government owes them its support there too.