The Muslim Rights Concern has urged the Federal Government to reconsider Nigerian marriage laws, advocating for a change that permits women to retain their father’s names after marriage.
In a statement issued on Monday, Prof Ishaq Akintola, MURIC’s executive director, expressed the view that the current practice, which allows women to adopt only their husbands’ surnames, is outdated, discriminatory, and oppressive.
Akintola argued that it is unjust for a man who played no role in a woman’s upbringing to suddenly assert the right to change her surname.
He emphasized the illogical and unfair nature of husbands claiming a woman’s parental identity, considering that women are individuals with a history, upbringing, and education independent of their future spouses.
“No woman dropped suddenly from the sky and even if some appear out of nowhere, they must have been born, bred, nurtured, and marmaladed by certain parents before they grew up and matured into womanhood.
“Their education was also sponsored by their parents at a time when the future husband probably knew nothing about them and spent no kobo on their upbringing and their education.
“It therefore beats logic, fairness, and natural justice that a husband appears out of nowhere to commandeer a woman’s parental identity simply by marrying her,” he said
Akintola highlighted the unfortunate necessity for many educated women to publicly announce their name changes in newspapers to maintain the validity of documents and properties acquired before marriage.
