zimbabwe: Women Sue Government Over Enforced Name Change

What's in a name? Married women in Zimbabwe are taking the government to court over a procedure that compels them to adopt their husbands' surnames as a precondition to official documents, including registering the birth of infant children. Under the leadership of the Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association (ZWLA), the women have embarked on a class action suit meant to free them from the burden of assuming their husbands' surnames before getting a passport or a child's birth certificate.