June 1, 2025
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| Identification document |
In South Azerbaijan, the “Balamın Adı” (My Child’s Name) petition campaign seeks to amend Iran’s civil registration laws. Launched by Azerbaijani activists on the karzar.net platform, the campaign calls for reforms to Article 20 of the "Civil Registration Law" to strengthen the right of parents to freely choose their child’s name. As the petition states, many parents face restrictions they “have never encountered in their lives,” leaving them unable to obtain birth certificates for their children.
Restrictions on Non-Persian Names and Legal Justifications
Iran imposes legal restrictions on the naming of newborns. Article 20 of the Civil Registration Law regulates name selection in official documents. According to this law, parents may only choose names that are deemed “traditional, Islamic, and Iranian.” Foreign, unusual, or gender-inappropriate names are considered invalid for registration.
The "High Council of Civil Registration" under the Executive Authority defines which names are permissible. For example, in 2015, official Asadollah Parsamehr stated that only names associated with Iranian and Islamic culture are accepted by the registration office, while those linked to “foreign cultures” are rejected. This restriction leads to many names being labeled “unauthorized.” If a chosen name is not in the system, the state refuses to issue identity cards or birth certificates, effectively preventing parents from naming their children as they wish.
Challenges Faced by Parents and Children
These restrictions often affect parents of Turkish ethnic background who wish to give their children Turkish names. State authorities reject these names as “banned,” denying birth certificates. For example, in Salmas, West Azerbaijan, a baby girl was named “Türkay” by her parents, but the Civil Registration Office rejected it as a prohibited name. As a result, the child remained without a birth certificate for four months after birth.
During this time, the parents had to cover all medical expenses themselves due to the lack of insurance, faced problems with school registration, and encountered additional bureaucratic hurdles. Eventually, the name was changed to “Alpay” in order to obtain a certificate. This incident was highlighted in the “Balamın Adı” campaign, where activists emphasized that children are denied identity documents because of non-Persian names, mothers are unable to take maternity leave, and fathers cannot even purchase travel tickets for their children.
Another example involves a family who wanted to name their daughter “Sevda” in 2013. The official system rejected the name. After two years of legal struggle, the name had to be changed to “Soda.” Such cases are repeated across many ethnic minority families in the republic. Parents often have to go to court, hire expensive legal consultants, and endure lengthy processes, often still failing to register their chosen names. Reports from Azerbaijani human rights organizations confirm that registration offices only accept names from an official list; names not on this list are labeled “foreign,” and documents are not issued.
Key Findings of the "Azerbaijan Inclusive Society" Report
A recent report by the US-based Inclusive Society Foundation systematically analyzes these issues. It highlights that the rejection of Turkish names for minority children in Iran is part of a broader policy of social assimilation. According to the foundation, the state refuses to issue birth certificates for names considered “foreign,” thereby denying full citizenship rights to minority groups. The report notes that Azerbaijani families frequently face rejections when choosing names like “Volkan” or “Ayıl,” simply because such names “do not conform to Persian norms.”
Moreover, children without official ID are excluded from education, healthcare, and other public services. The report stresses that these policies aim to undermine the right to freely choose names and reinforce racialized state practices. As a result, Azerbaijani and other minority children are left without documentation and deprived of government support.
International Law and Iran’s Obligations
The right to a name from birth is recognized in international law. According to Article 7 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, every child has the right to a name at birth. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights also emphasizes respect for family privacy and individual freedom, which includes the right to name one’s child.
Furthermore, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) guarantees the rights of ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities to use their own languages and practice their cultures (Article 27). Although Iran is a signatory to these treaties, it faces criticism for its practices. Many human rights defenders argue that Azerbaijani Turks are denied the right to give their children names in their own language, which constitutes a violation of Iran’s international obligations to minority rights.