[Blog] The Greatest Mother’s Day Gift in Mauritius: A Legacy of Equality

For this Mother’s Day, while browsing through the latest trend of extravagant wildflower bouquets, flowery bento cakes, personalised “Happy Mother’s Day” souvenirs, I started reflecting on a more profound gift Mauritian mothers truly deserve—not just a short-lived expression of appreciation, but a lasting fundamental recognition—the unconditional right to pass on a mother’s surname to her children, without bureaucratic hurdles or societal side-eye.

It is unfortunate that, while Mother’s Day is meant to honour mother(s), the same culture that showers her with one day of appreciation denies her this basic right the other 364 days. We praise her sacrifices, her love, and her strength, but society still defaults to stripping her surname from her children’s identity without question.

Mothers must still imperatively petition at the Attorney General’s Office with full justification. The reality is not to diminish a mother’s love but to honour its depth and celebrate her fully. The question to be asked is: how?

On one hand, as a barrister, I navigate our courts continuously brainstorming legal arguments during the week and lecture today’s buds of legal minds during weekends. On the other hand, balancing family life with three overly curious children of five and under (and a puppy) is enjoyable, endearing but very demanding. Through this I have realised that true appreciation for mothers is deeply carved in our laws and social fabric.

It begs the question: what rights have they been denied? What laws would prove that they are valued? How can I fight off a requested name change, navigate opaque procedures at Police Stations for enquiry, plead before the general public through publications and incur exorbitant costs to share their surnames to their own child?

Mothers still face societal disgrace whispering that a mother’s name is "not important."

This Mother’s Day, let’s challenge that.
Instead of thinking of only flowers, gratitude, and heartfelt tributes, let us ask: Why do we still erase our mother’s identity in one of the most fundamental ways? Can we create a legacy of equality for our mothers?

A Modern Mother’s Dual Reality: The Unseen Weight of Love and Sacrifice
Motherhood is often painted in broad strokes of joy and fulfilment—the warmth of a child’s embrace, the pride in their milestones, the selfless love that seems to come effortlessly. Beneath the surface lies a quieter, more complex truth—she is also a woman with her own aspirations and storms: dreams probably deferred or a voice sometimes muted by the sheer weight of responsibility. This duality is not a failure; it is pure art of survival for some, while fully thriving in the game of life for other warrior mothers.

To acknowledge this dual reality is to truly value mothers. Because real appreciation is not only sentimental. It is structural, be it legally, economically or culturally.

Mauritian Entrenched Laws and the Society Falling Short of Expectations
True it is that we praise mothers as "the heart of the family," but it is unfortunate that, in 2025, our laws lag behind the reality of modern motherhood. Mothers of Mauritius still do not have the right to pass on their surname to their own legitimate child. We have an outdated system with multiple legal and social barriers where:

• The default naming laws for children in Mauritius is rigidly patriarchal—automatic inheritance of the father’s surname, with no option to elect otherwise, as if motherhood were merely a vessel for lineage rather than an equal thread in the tapestry of a child’s identity.
• Social stigma labels children with maternal surnames as "illegitimate" while paternal surnames are unquestioned.
• Seeking to amend by adding the mother’s name is seen as a needless hassle for adjusting the electoral roll.

Being assigned a surname is not only a matter of paperwork—it is a denial of legacy.
It is time to recognise that a surname is more than a formality. It is a mark of belonging, history, and identity. For centuries, the automatic assignment of the father’s surname has been justified under the guise of "legitimacy," "tradition," or "convenience." These are excuses, not reasons, often at the expense of justice and progress because it seems that bureaucracy prefers the status quo and seeks to preserve an outdated, patriarchal norm.

A Real Shift in Perspective Where the Paradox of Equal Gender Roles Exists
For generations, we have heard that men and women are equal. We teach it, we preach it, we even legislate around it. This is the paradox: we claim gender roles are equal, but our systems still privilege the paternal line.

It is high time to understand that the ingrained fallacy of patriarchy that "lineage only flows through men" can no longer stand. Science has cleared all doubts: children inherit genes equally from both parents, which means they are a blend of both the mother and father's DNA. Both biological parents determine an offspring’s blood type. There is no reason therefore to sideline the mother's identity at birth of a child, when her role in creation, care, and kinship is equally central.

Perhaps there is a hidden hypocrisy in the Mauritian society: a stay-at-home mother is not considered to have a real job. She is not considered to have succeeded in life. How ironic, given that what she does is the foundation of the very society itself. She is the anchor of a family where their name should not be a request, but a given. The cycle needs to be broken, it needs to be redefined.

Moreover, the society should adjust its lenses and respectfully acknowledge that, in today’s world, there is an intricate overlapping of roles of the mother and the father where responsibilities are shared or combined, such that the father is taking on tasks that were traditionally seen as "female" and the woman is taking on tasks that were traditionally seen as "male." This undeniable blurring of traditional gender roles commands that socially constructed expectations and norms associated with masculinity and femininity have fused to be homogeneous. Or at best, the intersection between gender roles has enlarged and there is no compelling case for specific gender roles in a modern society.

This may be the current reality, but the recognition of it, the shift in societal perspective is however yet to happen where men openly equally value women and vice versa. After all, a marriage is an equal partnership and in the same spirit of equality, our society and legal system need to recognise the right of every family to choose a name that reflects both parents. Some may opt for hyphenation. Others may create new surnames. What matters is choice and equality.

My Fight for Equal Recognition
When I got married, I kept my maiden name. Now, my children carry my blood and my values—why not my name? Jeetah means ‘the one who wins’. I am born a ‘winner’ and so is my child. Ever since I conceived her, I knew I wanted her to carry that legacy. Not as a rejection of her father, but as an affirmation of me—my identity as her mother.

But when I stated to the Civil Status Officer that she will have a dual surname – both the name of her father and her mother, it was simply, “No. That is not a possibility in Mauritius.”

I refused to accept that erasure. As procedure dictates, I had to go through cumbersome legal petitions for a change of name, followed by enquiry by the Police and publications as provided by the Civil Status Act. And the outcome was to end up with an outright refusal with no opportunity to appeal.

As a barrister, I cannot condone this unfortunate reality where a mother’s surname is treated as disposable, even as she risks her life in childbirth, sacrifices her body, and shoulders the lion’s share of caregiving.

My grandfather did not just give us a surname—he gave us a battle cry. But the question to ask is why should the legacy end with me? Just because I am the mother, a female (as opposed to the father, the male), why based on my gender, am I being denied the right to pass on my legacy to my offspring? This is unconstitutional.

My daughter propelled me to fight for a change in the reality of Mauritius – why should women, just because of their gender face discrimination in spite of our enshrined constitutional rights?

What followed was a legal battle that took me to the Supreme Court of Mauritius requesting for Constitutional relief, amongst other orders, because I knew that a mother’s name holds weight equal as a father’s and that denying a mother the right to pass on her surname to her child was not just outdated, but unconstitutional. On the way, I faced skepticism, bureaucratic resistance, disparaging questions like, “What’s in a name?” and even quiet judgment from those who asked, “Why does it matter?”

But it did matter. Not only to me but all mothers out there. Because names give a sense of belonging. Names are pride. They are the first story a child is told about who they are. And I wanted my daughter to know her mother’s story mattered too.

Eventually, my surname was granted to my daughter, but it took me through a legal battle of more than 4 years and it was a partial win as the change of name was not automatic but an undertaking to “favourably consider” my application. My daughter now carries my name—our name—a living testament that a mother’s legacy is just as worthy as a father’s.

Every time I say her full name, I am reminded that the fight, with the full support of the legal team at 5 St James Court, was worth it. Not just for us, but for every mother who has ever been made to feel like an afterthought in her own child’s identity.

NB. A partial win has not changed the system; I am still waiting for a “favourable consideration” for the application of change of name for my 2 other little warriors.

WHY THIS MATTERS FOR MAURITIUS

As a nation that prides itself on progressive values, we cannot ignore this stark inequality.

The Mauritian Civil Code remains stuck in a past era and despite Mauritian women leading in law, medicine, and government, there has been a serious oversight. While the Mauritian Constitution guarantees equality before the law and prohibits discrimination on various grounds, including gender, Article 27 of the Mauritian Civil Code is paradoxically conflicting with constitutional guarantees of equality, without reasonable justification.

Article 27 imposes that ‘L'enfant légitime prend le nom patronymique de son père’, such that a legitimate child must imperatively take the surname of the father, thereby totally excluding the possibility of adopting the mother's surname. This practice perpetuates gender stereotypes and reinforces patriarchal norms, undermining women's equal status in the family.

It further violates international conventions, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) that Mauritius ratified back in 1984.

Amending the Civil Code of Mauritius to allow the choice of maternal names as well as dual surnames of parents. Let us uphold impartiality and justice to apply equally to everyone.

In France, the Civil Code was amended back in 2002 to allow ‘nom de famille maternel’—parents can assign, according to their will, either their own family name or both, in either order, for their children. This change was implemented in 2005, effectively ending the previous requirement that children automatically inherit the father's surname.

Subsequently, a law passed in 2022 further simplified the process for individuals to add to or substitute the name of the parent that was not passed down to them at birth, just by making a declaration in a dedicated form, without having to justify the request. Why can’t we evolve and amend the Mauritian Civil Code similarly to allow for a smooth transmission of both parents' names?

THIS MOTHER’S DAY, INSIST FOR A GIFT THAT LASTS GENERATIONS

If we truly value mothers, let this Mother’s Day be the start of a larger conversation—one where a mother’s right to her name is no longer up for debate. Because motherhood itself is an act of victory. And every mother’s name deserves to be carried forward—not as an exception, but as an unquestioned right. Mauritius is ready for a more equitable future.

Let us appeal, for all the mothers out there, a real shift in the narrative with tangible changes:

1. A legal reform:
Amending the Civil Code of Mauritius to allow the choice of maternal names as well as dual surnames of parents. Let us uphold impartiality and justice to apply equally to everyone, regardless of gender. Let the evolution of the French Civil Code be an inspiration to ease the process.

My message to Lawmakers: Let us honour mothers not just with words, but with legal equality. True appreciation for mothers is not just felt. It is legislated.

2. Modernised Procedures at the Civil Status Office—no "special requests", no more pleading for an uncertain possibility of giving the maternal name to your child. Naming a child at the time of declaration should be open to the option of passing on maternal surnames—whether through hyphenation, matrilineal surnames, or free choice in naming, it is time to ensure that a mother’s name has the same weight as a father’s.

3. At the level of the Ministry of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare:
Realise that it takes more than implementing reactive social policies to promote women empowerment, child development, family welfare and welfare of the community.

The norm of automatic passing down of the father's surname is in fact symbolic of the core societal belief that male identity holds more value and authority in the family and by extension, in society. This needs to be challenged. Recognise that this subtle yet powerful inequality that feeds into broader patterns of control, silencing, and abuse—setting stage for all social scourges, be it domestic violence, economic disparity, and the persistent marginalisation of women.

Implement structural changes that challenge these everyday injustices. Recognise and normalise that a mother’s equal right to pass on her surname is not just about names—it’s about equal representation, equal power and rewriting the rules of identity. Equality must be upheld in practice, at grassroots level, to dismantle the attitudes and systems that allow inequality and violence to persist.

4. A Nationwide Shift: Public Awareness
To normalise maternal surnames, just as we have normalised mothers as CEOs and judges—no explanations needed. Let us recognise maternal surnames as a matter of pride and celebrate mothers, daily.

Teach the young Mauritian minds that honouring mothers is not about one day of gifts—it is about upholding your legacy every day.

5. Personal Uprising:
If you are a parent, question why the father’s name is the default.
If you are a father – acknowledge the equal status that your partner truly deserves.
If you are a child, consider reclaiming your mother’s name and honour her throughout your lifetime.

6. To all mothers of Mauritius:
Own your identity gracefully and claim it. Your name is your children’s inheritance. Claim it unapologetically; Your identity is worth fighting for.

I often say to my friends discussing while motherhood: "You grow a baby, toil day and night in raising a human, survive their tantrums relentlessly while multitasking with work and the needs of the family. It is natural to claim your name—you've earned it."

And the Mother’s Day best gift? A world where your name carries the weight it deserves. This year, honour her fully—not just with words, but with the justice of remembrance. Her name matters. Her lineage matters. And it’s time we made that permanent.

This Mother’s Day, Let’s Honour.

About the author:
Nileema Jeetah,
Barrister-at-Law at 5 St James Court | Lecturer at Open University of Mauritius| Founding Counsel of
Global Foundation for Community Health (GFCH) |Mother of Three little Warriors