Abstract
Changing the surnames of married women is one of the issues affecting married women
in these modern days. Some people change their surname out of love at will, based on
religion, while some are compelled to change their names due to governmental policies.
Change of surname by women due to marriage, divorce, death, or quarrels with husbands
is one issue giving rise to complaints of breach of fundamental rights of women in Nigeria
and even the world over. It has become a common practice in Nigeria that once a woman
marries, her surname changes to that of her husband. And the moment she is divorced or
the husband dies, the need for another change arises. So, a woman mostly doesn’t stand
the chance of maintaining a single name/identity. It has become a norm, to the extent that
government agencies like the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Nursing and
Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), among
others, compel married women to change their surnames to that of their husbands. This
has become a problem for the identity of women's lineage. This paper looks at the
practices and policies to determine whether they conflict with the fundamental rights of
women in Islamic law. The study adopts a purely doctrinal research method. The paper
critically examined the policies of compulsory change of women’s surnames as required
by some governmental organizations and found that they violated women's rights. The
study recommends that other similar agencies like NYSC with such policies should stop
and or reverse them for they are a direct affront to the Constitutional rights to freedom
from discrimination and that of thought, conscience and religion.
in these modern days. Some people change their surname out of love at will, based on
religion, while some are compelled to change their names due to governmental policies.
Change of surname by women due to marriage, divorce, death, or quarrels with husbands
is one issue giving rise to complaints of breach of fundamental rights of women in Nigeria
and even the world over. It has become a common practice in Nigeria that once a woman
marries, her surname changes to that of her husband. And the moment she is divorced or
the husband dies, the need for another change arises. So, a woman mostly doesn’t stand
the chance of maintaining a single name/identity. It has become a norm, to the extent that
government agencies like the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Nursing and
Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), among
others, compel married women to change their surnames to that of their husbands. This
has become a problem for the identity of women's lineage. This paper looks at the
practices and policies to determine whether they conflict with the fundamental rights of
women in Islamic law. The study adopts a purely doctrinal research method. The paper
critically examined the policies of compulsory change of women’s surnames as required
by some governmental organizations and found that they violated women's rights. The
study recommends that other similar agencies like NYSC with such policies should stop
and or reverse them for they are a direct affront to the Constitutional rights to freedom
from discrimination and that of thought, conscience and religion.
Keywords:
Legal Regime
Change of Name
Married Women and Islamic Law
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