November 26, 2024
A Turkish child named Sevgi, born five months ago, has finally received a birth certificate bearing her Turkish name following a months-long struggle by her parents.
Sevgi had initially been denied official registration because Iran’s civil registration authorities objected to the Turkish name chosen by her family. After five months of efforts by her father, Vahid Pourmostafaei, her mother, and their lawyer, Asgar Mohammadi, the authorities eventually agreed to register the child under the name Sevgi.
Iran’s National Organization for Civil Registration maintains a list of approved names and expects parents to select their children’s names from that list. When parents choose a name that does not appear on the approved list, the proposed name may be referred to the organization’s Name Committee for review. If the committee does not approve it, parents can be prevented from officially registering the name.
Critics argue that political, religious, and cultural restrictions embedded in the approved-name system can prevent families from choosing names reflecting their religious, ethnic, or cultural identities.
The refusal to issue identification documents for children bearing names selected by their parents is not unprecedented. In 2020, the case of an Ardabil child named Ayıl attracted widespread attention after authorities refused to register his name. A video showing Ayıl’s father protesting outside the local civil registration office helped trigger what became known as the “Ayıl Campaign.”
As the campaign spread on social media, other Azerbaijani families who had encountered similar obstacles began sharing their experiences. Baluch, Kurdish, and Arab families in Iran also joined the discussion, describing comparable difficulties when attempting to register names chosen for their children and criticizing restrictions imposed by civil registration authorities.
Source: IranWire, Azerbaijani Service
Original publication date: November 26, 2024 (6 Azar 1403)
Original report: https://iranwire.com/azb/society-culture-2/136446