Hamid Melikoglu, Voice of America, December 29, 2022
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Human rights defenders in the region report that the Tabriz Civil Registry Office has refused to issue an ID card to a newborn child named "Elana."
Elana's father, Hamid Allahverdipur, shared the news on his Instagram page, stating that the Civil Registry Office opposed issuing an ID card for his child due to the name they had chosen.
According to the father, although two weeks had passed since the birth of his child, they had still been unable to obtain an ID card for her.
The registry officials informed the protesting parent that "such a name is not on the approved list, and we cannot register names that are not on the approved list."
In Iran, the refusal to register Turkish names due to issues such as Turkish orthography in the Arabic script and the absence of these names from the approved list has become a common problem for families.
In recent years, it has become popular in Iranian Azerbaijan for parents to choose Turkish names for their children. However, parents who select Turkish names outside the officially approved list face obstacles in freely choosing names for their children.
Families who insist on obtaining an ID card with their chosen name often have to file a lawsuit. If the court approves the name, they are then able to obtain an ID card for their child.
The right to a name and identity documentation is one of the fundamental rights of a child. By imposing restrictions on parents' choice of names, the Iranian government infringes on children's rights and the freedom of families to choose names for their children.
Link to the original text in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Təbrizdə Qeydiyyat İdarəsi 'Elana' adlı uşağa şəxsiyyət vəsiqəsi verilməsinə qarşı çıxıb