The Constitutional Court of Kyrgyzstan has overturned its ruling allowing adult citizens to choose to use middle names based on the name of their mother rather than their father, Kloop.kg reported on November 10, citing the Constitutional Court’s official website.
In a ruling handed down on November 9, the Constitutional Court of Kyrgyzstan overturn its ruling allowing adult citizens to adopt a matronymic, a second name derived from one’s mother.
The court justified its ruling by saying that the previous ruling allowing adult citizens to adopt a matronymic “has caused a wide public outcry since the majority of the population perceived the institution of matronymic as a negative phenomenon violating moral principles, values and traditions of the Kyrgyz people.”
Recall, Kyrgyzstan's Constitutional Court ruled in late June this year that adults can choose to use middle names based on the name of their mother rather than their father.
As a legacy of the Russian empire and Soviet era, most people in Kyrgyzstan use Russian-style patronymics: middle names derived from the name of their father.
But activist Altyn Kapalova challenged that rule in court and kept appealing until she reached the highest court, which ruled in late June partly in her favor, she wrote on Facebook.
The court ruled that children should still be given patronymics from birth to protect them from harassment and bullying. But citizens over the age of 18 can choose to swap the patronymic for a matronymic based on the name of the mother.
Eurasianet reported on July 4 that Altyn Kapalova’s legal battle on this matter began in December 2020, when she petitioned the authorities to reissue birth certificates for her three children so that their second names would be listed as either Altynovna or Altynovich, rather than that of their fathers.
The following summer, a court in Bishkek annulled the documents after they learned that those names were her own and not those of a co-habitant, as she had claimed to them. This ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court in April 2022. Kapalova took another tack this year by pressing the Constitutional Court to decide whether the insistence on enforcing patronymics was in line with the constitution.
In a ruling passed on June 30, the Constitutional Court said it agreed the current set-up violates the principle of gender equality, but it only agreed to go some of the way in offering a remedy. The panel of judges said citizens will be able to adopt a so-called matronymic only once they have reached the age of 18.
The Diplomat reported on August 1 that since the Constitutional Court’s ruling, Ms. Kapalova, who runs a museum of feminist art, has received threats of violence, and Facebook groups for fans of the president have waged fierce debate about the cultural values reflected in matronymics. Government officials have reportedly criticized the concept of matronymics, saying no such thing exists and that it flies in the face of Kyrgyz traditional values.
