Afghan mothers' names allowed on birth certificates

Women's rights campaigners in Afghanistan are celebrating a rare victory. For the first time, the names of mothers will be put on their children's birth certificates, alongside the father's name. Mothers' names will also be put on national identity cards. The Afghan government has just announced a new law to allow this. For hundreds of years, only the father's name was allowed on the birth certificate. Campaigners in Afghanistan started their campaign in 2017. They used social media to fight for the right of women to have their names on official documents. It is common in Afghanistan for a woman's name not to be included on wedding invitations.

Afghanistan's Vice-President said: "The decision to include the mother's name on the ID card is a big step forward for women's rights." The founder of the #WhereIsMyName campaign, Laleh Osmany, said the law was good. She said: "By printing her name, we give the mother power. The law now gives her certain powers to be a mother who can, without the presence of a man, get documents for her children, enroll her children in school, and travel." Another campaigner said: "My feeling of happiness may seem ridiculous for women in other countries, but when we live in a society where women are physically and spiritually excluded, achieving such basic rights is a big and difficult task."