Chile: Sebastián Piñera enacts law permitting change in surname order

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – “This law contributes to the cultural change we are promoting in terms of equality between men and women,” said Monica Zalaquett.

Chilean President Sebastián Piñera on Sunday, May 9th, enacted a law permitting to change the order of surnames, a measure that would favor equality between women and men since it will allow girls or boys to take the mother’s surname first.

The law -which was passed in Congress after 16 years of processing- establishes that parents will be able to agree on the order of surnames at the time of registering their first child in the civil registry and which will be the same order for the following children. It will also allow for people over 18 years of age to request to reverse the order of the surnames appearing on their birth certificates.

“This law contributes to the cultural change we are promoting in terms of equality between men and women. Likewise, it highlights the important role that women play in the family, allowing their surname to go first if they so decide,” said Mónica Zalaquett, Minister of Women and Gender Equality.

The law will also allow those who “for legitimate reasons, often associated with issues of violence, want to take their mother’s surname as their first name, (to do so) without having to go through a judicial process,” said a Chilean government statement.

In the absence of agreement between parents, the child will be registered first with the paternal surname and then with the maternal surname.

Source: DW