KABUL (SW): The newly launched biometric identity cards remain subject to criticism over its various features.
When after a long wait, the cards were finally issued earlier this month, a number of groups raised their voices demanding inclusion of certain ethnicities on the face of the cards, some demanding recognition of their ethnicities while some voices demanded incorporation of the mother’s name on the face of the cards.
Meanwhile, the cards do not have segments for specification of the holder’s wife’s name. The Article 22 of the Constitution bars all sorts of discriminations among the citizens, however, the directorate of population registration has defined identity of the citizens as: The identity comprises of complete characteristics of a person, which include name, pen name, father’s name, and grandfather’s name, the date of birth, place of birth, current residential address and permanent residential address. So, in this perspective there is no place for one’s wife name on the card.
A number of rights’ activists claim this is not because of any legal condition, but due to the prevalent men-dominated conservative culture.
Shahla Farid, a university lecturer, said in this regard the Constitution of Afghanistan sees men and women equally. She lamented that even in many developed Muslim countries, there is no place in the identity card for the name of the holder’s wife’s name.
Commenting on this, Bilal Siddiqi, spokesman for the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), informed Salam Watandar there should no differentiation between men and women in this matter. He added any sort of discrimination against women is clear violation of their human and constitutional rights.
Salam Watandar wished to have the views of the Biometric Identity Cards Issuing Authority, but to no avail. A while ago, Ruhullah Ahmadzai, spokesman for the BICIA, claimed the wife’s name is marked on the application form, but the soft copy of the form obtained by Salam Watandar does not have it.
ENDS