Hi ladies and happy new year to you all!. Hope you don't mind me sharing this here but am looking for some female solidarity.
I have set up a petition re adding parents names to UK child passports for any mums in the group that may have similar challenges when travelling.
I frequently travel solo with my children who carry different surnames to mine in their passports. I get stopped each time we pass through UK immigration and I am asked to prove I am their mother. My children have often been subjected to a barrage of insensitive questions from a young age. This regularly happens to families traveling with a solo parent but most often to women and the result is unnecessary hurdles, confusion, and a feeling of degradation. It's a scenario many face, and it's far from the standard of equality we strive for.
I am petitioning the UK government to apply a simple fix to children’s passports, which already happens in other forward-thinking countries, for the parents names & information to be printed in their children's passports. All immigration need do is cross-check the child and parent passport.
This simple change will uphold the dignity of all parents travelling solo with their children (especially women) regardless of surname differences.
I would be very grateful for any support. TIA https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/653125