Amaravati, Nov 10 (PTI) The Andhra Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights on Tuesday called for comprehensive administrative reforms to make the disclosure of the father’s name optional in all government forms and official records, wherever it is not legally mandatory.
The Commission emphasised that no child should be deprived of education, identity documents, scholarships, welfare entitlements or other essential services due to the absence of the father’s details in official records.
“AP SCPCR has called for comprehensive administrative reforms to make the disclosure of the father’s name optional in all government forms and official records wherever it is not legally mandatory,” said a release.
The call was made during a one-day consultation meeting on “Making Father’s Name Optional in All Official Documents,” jointly organised by AP SCPCR and the Children of India Foundation (CIF) with facilitation and coordination by ‘HELP’ organisation.
Highlighting the need for child-friendly documentation policies across departments, the meeting drew attention to the difficulties faced by children of single mothers, unmarried women, widowed and divorced women, survivors of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation, and children living under the care of guardians and other caregivers.
Such children frequently encounter administrative barriers when government application forms and online registration systems insist on mandatory disclosure of the father’s name.
These requirements can create unnecessary obstacles in obtaining birth certificates, school admissions, scholarships, identity documents and various government welfare benefits, the release added.
In several instances, mothers and children are compelled to repeatedly disclose sensitive family circumstances or make multiple visits to government offices to establish their eligibility for basic services, it said.
Hence, a series of administrative and policy measures were proposed to establish a uniform, inclusive and child-friendly documentation system across Andhra Pradesh, it added. PTI STH ROH
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