Using the hashtag #WhereIsMyName, campaigners pushed for the right of women to be named on official documents including children’s birth certificates, which previously named only the father.

The President signed the amendment after Parliament had delayed passing the changes, which were scheduled for discussion last week.

“I feel like a bird in a cage whose door has just been opened, achieving the dream of flying in the sky,” said activist Sonia Ahmadi, who joined the campaign when it began in 2017.

“My feeling of happiness may seem ridiculous for women in other countries, but when we live in a society where women are physically and spiritually excluded, achieving such basic rights is a big and difficult task.”

#WhereIsMyName campaigners are fighting an ingrained Afghan tradition that states using a woman’s name in public brings shame on the family.

Instead, women are publicly referred to by the name of their closest male relatives.

Their own names are generally not present on documents, on their wedding invitations or even on their own gravestones.

“In a society where everything is against women and they work to keep women down, this is a big step forward,” Ms Ahmadi said.

“It gives me an extraordinary feeling of happiness.”

The Afghan cabinet’s legal affairs committee said the move was a significant achievement.

“The decision to include the mother’s name in the ID card is a big step towards gender equality and the realisation of women’s rights,” the committee said in a statement.

The movement, which began in the city of Herat but has since expanded worldwide, has faced opposition in the conservative and patriarchal Muslim country.

During a joint press conference with local authorities and the founders of the movement, Herat Governor Wahid Qattali said he feared there would be resistance to the change.

“We need to work in the districts also to prevent a public opposition against the initiative … but there may be some who try to make trouble along the way,” he said.

Read More