Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale on Thursday criticized the BJP regarding a government notification that mandates married women to obtain a “permission letter” from their husbands if they wish to legally revert to their maiden names. Notably, the notification lacks a date.
In an Instagram post, the Rajya Sabha MP denounced Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assertion of “naari shakti” (women empowerment), labeling it as a “sham” and condemning the rule as a “shameless display of misogyny”.
Gokhale highlighted that the Modi government has mandated women seeking to change their surnames to provide either a copy of their divorce decree or a “permission letter” from their husbands.
He further explained that changing one’s name requires a notification in the Gazette. With these new regulations, women who are separated or those who simply wish to revert to their maiden surnames instead of their husband’s surnames will be required to submit one of the aforementioned documents.
Expressing his dismay, Gokhale stated that he had reached out to the Controller of Publications to inquire about the basis for introducing these new “misogynist rules”.
He vehemently questioned the necessity of “husband’s permission” for a woman to choose to change her own name. As an MP, he pledged to exert all efforts to ensure the withdrawal of this misogynistic rule.
A woman has challenged the government notification in the Delhi High Court, which has requested a response from the Centre.
In her petition, the woman, who was in the midst of divorce proceedings, argued that the notification violated her right to “autonomy and privacy” and demonstrated “gender bias”.
Identified as Divya Modi, she changed her name to Divya Modi Tongya after getting married. Divya contended that the notification hindered her ability to revert to her maiden surname.
Furthermore, she argued that the rule unreasonably restricted freedom of expression and personal identity, especially for women, by requiring a “no-objection Certificate (NOC)” from the husband.
