The High Court decision to accept the mother's name as official guardian in student information forms and other official documents is a landmark moment in the fight against gender discrimination.
The High Court bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Md Khairul Alam decreed the rule on Tuesday, allowing a person's mother or official guardian's name to be used in any official government documents if an individual does not wish to add the father's name.
Women's rights activists welcomed the verdict, saying that it was a step forward in establishing the rights of mothers in all aspects of life.
One of the lawyers in the case, Advocate Ainun Nahar Siddiqa Lipi, said: “Through this judgment, the constitutional right of any child without parental identity to receive education has been protected.”
She called upon all authorities concerned, including the Ministry of Education, to take necessary steps for the proper implementation of the order.
A writ was filed 14 years ago over the fact that a student had to mention his or her father's name as guardian. The student could not mention the mother's name without mentioning the father's name. This system changes with the implementation of the new ruling, she added.
Barrister Sara Hossain, senior lawyer of the case, said that the verdict is a breakthrough in the elimination of gender discrimination and would play a leading role in guaranteeing the rights of every person to express his or her identity and acquire education.
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According to various newspaper reports in April 2007, the authorities refused to give an admit card to a young girl from Thakurgaon for the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination as she could not fill in her father's name in the Student Information Form (SIF) before participating in the secondary examination.
Later, based on proper investigation of the incident and the demand to establish the recognition of the mother as the guardian of the child, three human rights and legal support organizations, namely Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), Bangladesh Mahila Parishad and Naripokkho, jointly filed this public interest case on August 2, 2009.
Maleka Banu, general secretary of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad said: "It is hoped that discrimination in the field of parenting will be eliminated. Despite the absence of any specific legal provision to mention the father's name in the form in the field of education, children without the identity of their parents have been deprived of the right to education for so long. It is hoped that through the proper implementation of this landmark judgment, it will be possible to ensure the right of all children to receive education.”
Kamrun Nahar, program manager and a member of Naripokkho, said in her opinion: “In the fight to establish the right of guardianship of the mother over the child, we must be more active in order to effectively implement the achievement.”
BLAST submitted the information related to the case to the court on behalf of the petitioners on June 6, 2021.
