Were you raped ? What unwed mothers may have to answer for kid's passport

If you’re a a single mother and the huge paperwork required to get your child a passport is not enough , you may now also have to explain to the officers how you conceived.

A Times of India article reported  that a lawyer representing the Union government told Bombay high court on Thursday that “an unwed mother must file an affidavit stating how she has conceived and if she was raped and why she does not want the father’s name included.”

Advocate Purnima Bhatia, appearing for the foreign ministry, said this in reply to a query from the judges on the procedure followed for unwed mothers.  She claimed it was part of the passport manual, a classified document, referred to by authorities while issuing a passport.

The advocate’s comments came when a 21-year-old moved the court as the passport officer refused to issue her a passport with her step-father’s name on it. According to the passport manual, the instructions state that only the biological father’s name must be mentioned on the passport.

According to the current rules for passport application, both parents’ signatures are required for children under the age of 14.

If one parent cannot be present at the passport office, he or she can complete a Statement of Consent and have it notarized to prove the authenticity of the signature.

For divorced parents, a photocopy of the divorced decree custodianship order of the court is required.

The process also notes if ’the child is born out of wedlock’ if you file an affidavit sworn before a magistrate furnishing the reason for not indicating the name .

So, isn’t this application enough? No.

Bhatia’s statements before the court are nothing less than shocking. Why would anyone tell the government how she conceived?

It’s strange that while India is making so called progress in terms of science and technology, a single mother has to face this to obtain a passport for her child. Two year earlier, in a landmark judgement, the Delhi High Court had ruled that a father’s name is not always required .

The judge had noted that in cases of passport application of a child by a divorced mother, or where the father has severed all contact with the child or when the father is unknown, the mother need not mention the father’s name.

The comment of the lawyer evoked some angry responses on Twitter:

Archaic, revolting misogyny. Courts told an unwed mother has to inform how she conceived & whether she was raped - for a passport @MEAIndia

— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) October 31, 2014

Dear @MEAIndia are passport questions for unwed fathers the same and as intrusive as they are for unwed mothers?

— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) October 31, 2014

Guess what, we r the same nation boasting abt equality nd r not ready to embrace 'Single' parenting. #hellomodernity http://t.co/jvvb0nogVe

— Madhuri Khanduja (@madhurikhanduja) October 31, 2014

We are still living in Mahabahart age where every Kunti will fear to get a passport for her child to avoid of social declaration of her rape

— Rahul Raj (@x_rahulraj) October 31, 2014

Here's how an unwed mother conceived, Government of India, she had sex. Now deal with it.

— Veena (@veenavenugopal) October 31, 2014