Metropolis Report-
If a person doesn’t have a father or prefers not to add their name, the High Court ruled that their mother’s or legal guardian’s name may be added to any official government records from now onwards.
The rule was announced on Tuesday by the High Court bench, made up of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Md Khairul Alam.
The decision was made in response to a 2007 event in which the Rajshahi Board of Education denied a Thakurgaon SSC applicant her admit card because she was unable to fill out the father’s name on the student identification form. As the girl was living solely with her mother and not her father, numerous news organizations reported the issue.
Later, on August 2, 2009, three human rights organizations—Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, and Naripokkho—joined forces to file a writ in the public interest based on investigation reports and demanding the recognition of the mother as the child’s guardian.
On August 3, 2009, at the first hearing of the writ, the then-High Court bench, made up of Justices Syed Refat Ahmed and Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury, issued a ruling in which they questioned if the current provision should not be deemed to be an impediment to equality and human rights.
