HC verdict moves the needle on recognising single motherhood

In 2019, Maruf Billah stared at the admission portal for the Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP). On the portal, there was a box that required his father's NID card number, along with his mother's, to complete the application. 

This meant he had to rely on his father, who had not had any contact with him for over 15 years, for something as important as university admission. Panic, anger and anxiety overwhelmed him.  Fortunately, after speaking to the university, his problem was amicably resolved. 

However, raised by his mother and living with the memory of an estranged father, Maruf has  had to live through a myriad of bitter experiences where identification records or paperwork — specifically government documents — allowed his father to have some degree of control over Maruf's life. 

But on Tuesday, Maruf, and thousands like him, we presume, rejoiced. 

On 24 January, the High Court ruled that it is no longer mandatory to write the father's name while filling in forms for admission, registration, and examination in school and other educational institutions. It may come as a surprise that this needed to be stated in law, in writing by the court, something that seems like the most fundamental rule of the land. But whether one can understand the implications or not, this ruling — in part, a vital recognition — was very much needed. And that by itself is telling of the state of women's rights in the country and how far we have yet to travel to achieve the mysterious notion of gender equality. 

Prior to this verdict, a slew of people across the country suffered, mostly in silence, from chronic discomfort, emotional turmoil, and anger that perhaps never found a channel to fume out of. 

Children of divorced parents, children with estranged fathers, and children who never met their fathers are some of the few examples of the most common sufferers.

Because on multiple occasions, young adults, children, and their mothers encountered identification forms that would ask for the father's name. And in many cases, the form would be considered null and void without the male parent's information. 

To add gendered insult to the bureaucratic injury, educational institutions and examination forms specifically required the male parent's name. This held back, re-traumatised or burdened many students — making this HC ruling even more essential. 

Imagine the hurdles of going through the long queues in government offices or institutions to tell the state that the father is absent and that the mother is enough to be a child's legal guardian. It may not mean much for those who have not lived through the experience or know the number of additional hoops one has to go through for simple paperwork, but this ruling is historic. And even if not absolute, it is still a milestone for gender equality and mothers in the country. 

The High Court stated that educational institutions will no longer be able to refuse a student's registration or admission if they fail to mention their father's name; just writing the mother's or legal guardian's name will suffice. 

"Guardianship has to do with all decision-making regarding a child, we cannot say this verdict means mothers will have full guardianship of their children. What we can say is it is a step towards recognising equal rights of mothers and fathers to transmit identity to their children," said rights activist Barrister Sara Hossain.  

She also said everything will be clearer after the verdict's full text is published.  

"Not being recognised based on the mother's name was a form of gender inequality and this verdict might change it," she further explained.  

However, while this verdict is certainly a step forward to recognising mothers as guardians, it is only a step forward and not an absolute guarantee of gender equality pertaining to guardianship. "Putting mothers' names does not necessarily mean mothers will become the sole guardians," Hossain added.  

Until the verdict's full text is released, it remains unclear whether or not the High Court verdict allows children to fill up passports, national ID and other official identification forms using the name of only their mothers, or if law is just applicable to student information forms.

Another issue that remains when it comes to mother's rights is the fact that when a marriage ends in divorce, according to Bangladeshi law, a mother is entitled to custody of her son until the age of seven, and her daughter until she has reached puberty (15 years).

The past and the future 

A writ petition was filed in 2009 when writing a father's name on the Student Information Form (SIF) was mandatory. In April 2007, the Rajshahi Education Board refused to issue an admit card to an SSC student who could not put her estranged father's name on the form as he had abandoned the family.    

This verdict certainly paves the way for this student and others like her whose fathers do not play a role in their lives. It may also change things for the better for single mothers. 

This verdict is also timely because "physically filling out forms means one could correct the mistakes, but in e-forms correction is difficult. So, in that sense, this HC verdict has made things easier for students not willing to put their father's names on forms," explained honorary executive director of the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust Barrister Sara Hossain.   

In the digital era, it has become essential to rid ourselves of bureaucratic flaws that stem from gender discrimination. And according to her, while Bangladesh strives and makes waves to become fully digitised, "many things depend on how a person is identified or recognised, such as what are the services or benefits that the person is going to get, how can they ensure their rights, and many more." 

Explaining the background of the verdict, she said there were no issues with the law, the existing law did not discriminate and stated that a student will not be able to sit for an exam without their father's name. The problem lay in its implementation. 

"Interestingly, when electronic forms were introduced, it was made compulsory to write the father's name. It probably came from a lack of understanding or sensitivity. And this small mistake affected the lives of many students."

"This verdict is now only for educational institutes but there are other areas where this problem [of putting the father's name] still exists such as in passport forms, birth certificate registration forms etc. We hope that the authorities will look into it carefully. If they do not, other steps will have to be taken," Hossain said.

Chairperson of Bangladesh Human Rights Foundation Advocate Alena Khan said children who are abandoned or neglected by fathers should not have to write their father's name if they choose not to. 

"There are many fathers who have never taken the responsibility of their children who were raised only by their mothers. It can happen that the children refuse to write their father's name out of anger or hurt and that is alright. They should not be forced to do it," she said.  

"Why should someone be refrained from taking an exam? Why cannot someone apply for a job? We believe the HC has declared a historic verdict. But we also have to keep in mind that it is not misused or misinterpreted," Khan added.

Stating other examples where the mother's name is given priority, she said, "Did you know in prisons, inmates are known by their mother's names? But you have to keep in mind that a father is a natural guardian, even by religion and this cannot be ignored. Only in cases where the father's name is not applicable, it can be ignored." 

According to Advocate Alena Khan  the verdict does not really mean absolute guardianship of mothers and she suggested going through the full explanation to understand more about it.