Mothers can now be sole legal guardians of their children: HC

A mother can now be the sole legal guardian of her children, the High Court has ruled in a historic verdict.

From now on, educational bodies and institutes will not be able to refuse registration or admission to a student for failing to name their father.

Human rights activist barrister Sara Hossain told The Business Standard that it is not now mandatory to write the father's name while filling in forms for admission, registration, and examination in school and other educational institutions.

"Students would be recognised by their single mother too. Also, they are not bound to write their father's name," she added.

Sara Hossain said the High Court on Tuesday gave this decision for educational institutions in an operative verdict. Apart from educational institutions, in many cases, it is mandatory to submit the father's name.

After publishing the full text of the verdict, it will be known whether the verdict is effective in all cases, she said.

With this verdict, single mothers are relieved from big complications, added Sara Hossain.

Disposing of a rule regarding it, the bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Md Khairul Alam handed down the verdict on Tuesday.

Advocate Ainun Nahar Siddiqa Lipi, a lawyer for the writ plea, said when the writ was filed 14 years ago, a student had to compulsorily fill the fields of "father and mother" names in the Student Information Form (SIF) as the guardian, i.e. write out the names of father and mother. As a result, a student or an examinee could not be allowed to write the name of any of the parents in the SIF.

Because of the historic judgement, the name of anyone – father or mother or legal guardian – can be filled in the box, she added.

Lawyers and human rights activists have lauded and welcomed the HC verdict and called it a "breakthrough" for gender equality.

Back in April 2007, as per media reports, Rajshahi Education Board refused to issue an admit card to an SSC examinee from Thakurgaon as the student could not fill in her father's name in the student information form.

The girl was raised by her mother alone after her biological father left them.

Then on 2 August 2009, three human rights bodies – Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, and Naripokkho – jointly filed a writ, seeking legal guardianship of mothers of their children in such cases.

After a preliminary hearing the next day, an HC bench issued a rule asking why the discriminatory provision regarding guardianship should not be declared unconstitutional as it violates their fundamental rights and it's a barrier to their access to education.

The HC also ordered the authorities concerned to submit a report on the arrangements in place for students who are eligible to sit for a public exam but do not wish to disclose the name of their father.