Nollywood Actress, Kemi Lala Akindoju, has said the practice of women taking the surnames of their husbands after marriage is unscriptural and should be abolished.
Kemi Akindoju said women should be allowed to choose whether they would continue to answer their surnames or their husbands’ surnames.
Kemi, also added that children belonging to the husband’s lineage did not make sense. She argued that women are responsible for the life-transforming process of childbirth and not men.
She noted that since the scripture said the two -husband and wife, shall become one, the couple could merge their surnames and not subject the woman to take the man’s surname.
On her X handle, on Sunday, Akindoju wrote, “Honestly, if we really want to follow ‘2 shall become 1,’ the couple should merge both surnames. I still question the children automatically coming from the man’s state of origin, his surname, and the fact that the man “owns” the child. The whole thing messes with my head so much.
“Yet it’s the woman who physically goes through a life transforming process to birth the children. Yet, she’s relegated. I may not have the answers, but it troubles my entire being and I am yet to find the scripture that says the woman must take the man’s name.
“Scripture actually says the man cleaves to the woman (but what do I know). Most importantly, a woman should be allowed to choose. Whether she wants to change her name or not or compound it. It’s sha somehow that boys are never raised to think their identity will change.”
She added that women changing their surnames to their husbands after marriage is one of the ways of subjecting the female gender.
“But just because of a woman’s gender, she’s raised/socialized to know that she shouldn’t get too comfortable with a name and identity she’s known all her life. I don’t have the answers, but I strongly question this practice,” the actress added.
