How will entry of mother’s name in passport help single mothers?

The Department of Immigration and Passports has recently announced that the father’s name will now be written on the passport as well as the mother’s name.

The spokesperson of the Department of Immigration and Passport told Independent Urdu that this decision was taken keeping in mind the international standard because there are problems of identification of small children at the time of immigration, in which the consent of both father and mother is required, therefore it has been decided to include the name of the mother in the passport.

“Furthermore, it aims to facilitate women who, for one reason or another, are raising children alone.”

According to the spokesperson: ‘This new policy will apply to newly issued passports, but the passports that have been issued will be able to be used until their expiry date, but if someone wants to update, they can also get a new passport.’

Mariam (pseudonym as the woman does not wish to reveal her identity) is a single mother and is quite satisfied with the decision to include the mother’s name on the passport.

Maryam has separated from her husband. They have three children. Two daughters live with the father but the son lives with them.

As a single mother, she faces difficulties in many places to identify her son.

Speaking to Independent Urdu, Maryam said that last year she got her son’s passport made: ‘I know how much difficulty I faced because you can’t go and get the passport made alone, you need an order from the court that the father has given the NOC and you can go and make the passport.’

Continuing, he said that ‘the problem of home address on the passport is also faced that if the child is living with the mother, then the father’s home address will be written and the name of the husband should also be written on the mother’s identity card.’

Maryam says that adding mother’s name on passport is a good move, it will improve a lot of things and make it easier for single mothers.

According to Maryam: ‘The problems don’t end here, but if you have to travel somewhere outside the country, even there you cannot take the child out unless you have a guardianship letter. The court gives you a permit, which lists the date and time you can leave and return to the country.

‘If you are a single mother, understand that you are paralyzed. You cannot travel out of the country alone with the child and even if you have all the documents, you are harassed at immigration and not only here but in other countries also at immigration and questions are asked where the father of the child is, but these questions are asked a lot in Pakistan.

Maryam thinks that the entry of mother’s name on the passport is somewhat of a Sikh breath, but she also says that it should be more streamlined. “Just as NADRA had given enough relief that they had started issuing Family Registration Certificate (FRC) in the name of the mother and it was not necessary for the father to be there, similarly if something is removed for travel, it should be written on the passport itself that the mother is a single parent and she is allowed to travel. Of course, the custody of the child should be with someone, but he should be allowed to travel with one of the parents without the permission of either of the parents.’

Arusa Adnan is a mother of one daughter and employed. In a conversation with Independent Urdu, he said that it is a very good move that the mother’s name is also being written on the passport, however, in his opinion, the name of the mother should be included not only on the passport but also on many other documents.

According to Arusa: ‘My husband and I both work, but I cover my daughter’s school fees and other expenses from my salary. Until a few years ago, whenever I got a tax certificate from the school to submit tax returns, they used to make it in my husband’s name, that is, it was a sure thing for them that the fee would be paid by my father, while the fee went from my account, I always had to go to school and get it corrected.

Laughing, Arusa also complained that ‘often the permission slips for children’s educational visits require the signature of the father, and even if the child gets a certificate in any competition, the father’s name is also written on it. In my opinion, if the mother’s name is also recorded on such things, mothers like us who are bearing the cost of children’s education should also be happy.

Does NADRA also plan to include mother’s name on ID card?

In this regard, NADRA spokesperson Syed Shabahat Ali told Independent Urdu: ‘which is our family system, according to which we issue the family registration certificate, in it the head of the family is the householder and the names of both the mother and the father are recorded in the FRC.

At the same time, he said: ‘Of course, we have introduced another system, in which now the child’s photograph and his biometrics will also be entered on the B form to prevent human trafficking.’

According to Syed Shabahat Ali: ‘Earlier Child Registration Certificates or B-forms did not have children’s photographs on them, due to which human traffickers used to take away children from one B-form. Now we have changed our rules on June 19, 2025, according to which children above three years of age are being photographed on their B-forms and biometrics are being taken for children above 10 years of age.’

He said that in order to prevent human trafficking, the passport office added the mother’s name to the passport and NADRA added categories in its B-form so that the children’s photos and fingerprints are available to them, but both institutions have the same responsibility to prevent human trafficking in any case.

According to Syed Shabahat Ali: ‘For the convenience of single mothers, the mother’s name has also been entered on the FRC. The father’s name must either be written that he is not alive or the mother’s status must be written as divorced.

“When the child takes out his B-form, which is required everywhere, whether it is an educational matter, a matter of property distribution or traveling outside the country, FRC is required. Only the ID card does not work and the names of both parents are entered on the FRC, but if you say that NADRA has the facility to enter the mother’s name instead of the father’s name on the ID card, then it is not the case and no one has ever expressed such a need to us.”