Italian politician Dario Franceschini has proposed a new law that would make it automatic for babies to be assigned their mother’s surname at birth. The initiative challenges Italy’s long-standing tradition of children taking their father’s surname and aims to address gender inequality in naming practices.
The proposal follows a 2022 constitutional court ruling that deemed the automatic assignment of the father’s surname as “discriminatory and harmful to the identity of the child.” The court ruled that children should receive both parents’ surnames in an agreed order or just one if both parents consent. However, parliamentary approval is needed to implement the ruling, which stalled after Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government took power.
Franceschini argues that requiring both parents’ surnames could create “endless problems” and believes a single maternal surname would be a simpler and fairer solution. He sees this as a way to correct a “centuries-old injustice” that has reinforced gender inequality in Italy.
Political Backlash from Right-Wing Parties
The proposal has sparked strong opposition from members of Meloni’s coalition. Far-right leader Matteo Salvini mocked the initiative, suggesting it aimed to “wipe fathers off the face of the earth.” Other politicians from right-wing parties, while opposing a shift to a matriarchal naming system, have expressed openness to maintaining the court’s original recommendation of assigning both parents’ surnames.
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