Surnames in Czech to aim for equality - 28th June 2021

A proposed equality law may soon let women in the Czech Republic choose their surnames.

Due to the grammatical rules of Czech, the feminine ending "-ová" is added to the majority of surnames for women. So the sister of a ‘Mr Novak’, would be ‘Ms Novaková’.

This situation, which marks the gender of someone in their surname, is seen as discrimination. A lot of women would prefer to have a non-gendered surname. They wish to have the same form as their male relatives.

Neighbouring Slovakia, which was previously one nation with the Czech Republic, has given women the right to choose. They can ignore the feminine ending and choose non-gendered surnames. However, laws in the Czech Republic prevent this. Only foreign nationals and women whose husbands are foreigners currently have this right.

The former Justice Minister, Helena Valková, has proposed a new law. If approved, it will allow all women to choose the masculine grammatical form of their surname. This new law has now been passed by the Chamber of Deputies, where it was agreed by 91votes to 33. The proposed law now travels to the Senate, where it will be considered and voted on.

Some Czechs disagree with the proposed new law. They believe that using non-gendered names is confusing. They argue that gendered endings are central to the grammar rules of the Czech language. Meanwhile, a survey showed that 28 per cent of women wanted a non-gendered surname.

The Senate will soon vote on whether to change the law.