Bill Allowing Women in USVI to Keep Whichever Surname They Choose Upon Marriage Approved in Senate
Members of the 34 Legislature have approved a piece of legislation that will allow for married women in the U.S. Virgin Islands to not mandatory carry the surname of their husband but to choose whichever surname they prefer as part of their identification.
2021-12-29 21:58:19 - VI News Staff
Senator Alma Francis Heyliger recently introduced Bill No. 34-0035 to the Committee on Rules and Judiciary which provides for amending Title 16 Virgin Islands Code, Chapter 1, Subchapter III, Section 61 relating to a wife’s name upon marriage.
Describing the current legislation as an antiquated sexist law, she said that the current law states, “The wife shall bear the surname of her husband.” Bill 34-0035 is designed to abolish this very law and give women the right to choose their last name upon marriage.
Explaining the bill during the December 23rd session of the Legislature, she told lawmakers that the current law was written during a period when women were not valued and had no rights. Once a woman married, her entire worldly assets would now belong to her husband. “We cannot as a forward-thinking institution keep laws on the books that are detrimental to the progress of women in this territory," Ms. Francis Heyliger stated. “It is about time that we dispose of such sexist laws that have been in our code for the past 100 years. The times have changed, and we need to make sure that our laws reflect the way of life today and in the future.”