Women’s ‘identity’ right

Women in Pakistan have got a reason to rejoice. They now have the right to decide how they want to be named ‘officially’ post-marriage — whether they want to retain their maiden name in identity papers or they want to be christened afresh with the husband’s name suffixed as their surname. How far this new identity right would help them preserve their self ‘identity’ remains to be seen though.

Alongside having to bear with the challenge of settling into a new home, the brides customarily have to face the cumbersome ‘official’ procedure of name change. Regrettably, what should have been a simple matter of choice was made a compulsion which had hitherto continued without least justification. The abolition of this ‘unofficial’ policy, by NADRA, of late must have given a breather to the weaker sex.

While it may just be the resolution of a ‘procedural’ issue — happening as a result of awareness campaigns in the media or the long-drawn feminist movement against the growing gender-based violence and discrimination — the socio-cultural gradualism around names of domestic dwellers should not be forgotten.

Before the British raj, the well-established traces of history and literature suggest that women did enjoy prominent noble status in the royal society. The pattern of the Mughal harem carried a strong imprint of the ways of Noor Jahan, Mumtaz Mahal, Gulbadan Begum and others. Khwaja Hasan Nizami’s literary portrayals of women in Begumat kay Ansoo suggest that there was no such obligation for women to identify themselves with their male counterparts — even if they were kings or princes. It was after the fall of the Mughal Empire that women vanished from the big scene and their distinctiveness was completely obscured.

It was when the socio-cultural discourse found its way among the commoners that endearments like Rasheeda ki amman, Gherwali, Begum, Naikbakht, Bhagaywaan, etc became the order of the day. The brides’ callings were, as if, wrapped in burqas in sheer honour or utter shyness. So much so that at open homes with a joint family structure, women’s names were not even voiced within the peripheral boundaries. In rural areas, that delicate and respected ‘shadow-calling’ lasted for quite a long period of time.

Over time, with mass migration to urban areas, the practice of naming and addressing women was urbanised too. Now in vogue were ‘Mrs Husband Name’ or ‘Begum Husband Name’. Simultaneously, women’s march towards education and employment and the related need for documentation brought women’s names on paper and in the public sphere. ‘Ms’, therefore, became a popular prefix to female names — providing an otherwise housed woman some sense of identity and individuality. This identity of the self, however, remains short-lived in general, as a woman has to walk down the aisle and accept to become a Mrs — not just in line with a social practice but as an official compulsion too. Thus, it is the husband’s name, or that of his family, that provides identity to a woman — well, a married one.

And now, for quite some time, due to various factors — such as the advent of social media, the rejuvenated feminist movements and growing gender-based violence — the undue patriarchal attitudes and notions have been challenged. Why the bride needs to ‘adjust’ her name is not just beginning to cause resentment, but being taken as an affront too — especially when there is no religious, legal or historical compulsion.

Still, women trying to defy the traditional practice concerning their names are treated with disdain. Benazir Bhutto is a case in point: the ex-PM was often scorned by her opponents for retaining Bhutto as her surname even after marriage instead of adopting Zardari. Similarly, Maryam Nawaz — daughter of Nawaz Sharif and wife of Safdar Awan — is sarcastically addressed as ‘Maryam Safdar’ or ‘Begum Awan’ by her political rivals.

NADRA’s policy decision thus comes in line with the right of all and sundry to name themselves as they please. It may have been a small step in the context of women’s rights but has a big social transformation potential. In a conservative society like ours, this is indeed a landmark move.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 30^th, 2021.

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