VILNIUS — Despite the ability to choose a neutral surname, most Lithuanian women are still opting to use the traditional “-ienė“ ending when they get married.

In Lithuania, unmarried women have name endings such as “-ytė“, “-utė”, “-aitė” and so on, signifying that they are single. Normally, when getting married, women would take their husband’s surname suffixed with “-ienė.” In 2003, however, the ability to have a name ending with “-ė” was announced giving divorced women, widows and women who did not want the [private_supervisor]“-ienė” ending the chance to have a neutral surname that did not announce their marital status.

Out of 322 marriages registered in May in Vilnius, 24 women chose to change their marital status, but keep their maiden name, 28 chose to keep the unmarried status. Another 28 opted for a double surname with their husband’s name and their maiden name. Another 144 chose the traditional surname for married women and another third of those married took their foreign husband’s surname.

The Vilnius Civil Registration Division told the Baltic News Service that most women still opt for the traditional name. There was a similar situation in Kaunas, too where out of 174 marriages, 145 opted for the traditional name.

Klaipėda’s and Panėvežys’ civil registration service saw similar trends.

In 2003 the State Lithuanian Language Commission allowed the new “-ė” ending as a second option to the traditional ending. It said that the new endings are considered to be a second option.

Women’s rights activists in the country say that the ending is a useful tool for women to realise their rights in society.

“The possibility to choose a surname which does not reveal the woman’s marital status is absolutely essential for the exercise of her women’s rights,” Laima Vaigė, a Lithuanian women’s rights activist told Baltic Reports.

Vaigė said that women choose the traditional ending because they are pressured by society.

“It is of vital importance for a woman to choose whether to be labeled by an ‘-ienė’ ending, which on one hand shows ‘ownership’ of a woman, and on another hand, gives her a false ‘protection’ by the social status of a married woman. Conservative value judgments of Lithuanian society to this date influence women and cause them to choose the ‘–ienė ending,” she said.

Vaigė said that some women choose the modern suffix because they want a name that is short and less “clumsy.” She argued that shorter names are easier in foreign countries.

As a young woman, Vaigė nee Vaigauskaitė got married and became Trofimovienė, using the traditional ending. She said she did it because she wanted to be taken seriously.

“I can say why I did it. Even though I identified myself with feminism and women rights values, I felt that at that moment (married by 24) I needed the protection of an –iene ending, especially while talking about women rights. When women talk about women rights and gender inequality, it is a common thing to look at their surnames: if she’s not –ienė, whatever she says does not matter, because it comes from the lips of a spinster. I thought if I was –ienė, I could talk more freely and people would maybe listen to what I say, instead of writing it off,” she said. After her marriage ended she switched to Vaigė.

The land feminism forgot

The traditional legacy is not only felt by those trying to change trends. Sigita Guobužienė, from the small town of Utena in northeast Lithuania told Baltic Reports that when she got married, there was not any other possibility.

“Back then it wasn’t even possible. Only in recent years has this came,” Guobužienė, who married in 1980 said. “Nobody was even thinking about that then. It was simply the language tradition, that’s it.”

Indeed while some of the women’s rights established in the first wave of feminism in the early 1900s were recognized in the Soviet Union, the second wave of the 60s and 70s that revived the use of the title “Ms.” broke along the Iron Curtain, as censorship and political repression largely prevented its ideas from entering the communist world.

Lithuania’s gender pay gap remains at 20 percent according to Eurostat figures, above the European Union average of 17.6 percent. Fellow Baltic state Estonia has the highest gender pay gap in the EU with 30 percent. [/private_supervisor] [private_subscription 1 month]“-ienė” ending the chance to have a neutral surname that did not announce their marital status.

Out of 322 marriages registered in May in Vilnius, 24 women chose to change their marital status, but keep their maiden name, 28 chose to keep the unmarried status. Another 28 opted for a double surname with their husband’s name and their maiden name. Another 144 chose the traditional surname for married women and another third of those married took their foreign husband’s surname.

The Vilnius Civil Registration Division told the Baltic News Service that most women still opt for the traditional name. There was a similar situation in Kaunas, too where out of 174 marriages, 145 opted for the traditional name.

Klaipėda’s and Panėvežys’ civil registration service saw similar trends.

In 2003 the State Lithuanian Language Commission allowed the new “-ė” ending as a second option to the traditional ending. It said that the new endings are considered to be a second option.

Women’s rights activists in the country say that the ending is a useful tool for women to realise their rights in society.

“The possibility to choose a surname which does not reveal the woman’s marital status is absolutely essential for the exercise of her women’s rights,” Laima Vaigė, a Lithuanian women’s rights activist told Baltic Reports.

Vaigė said that women choose the traditional ending because they are pressured by society.

“It is of vital importance for a woman to choose whether to be labeled by an ‘-ienė’ ending, which on one hand shows ‘ownership’ of a woman, and on another hand, gives her a false ‘protection’ by the social status of a married woman. Conservative value judgments of Lithuanian society to this date influence women and cause them to choose the ‘–ienė ending,” she said.

Vaigė said that some women choose the modern suffix because they want a name that is short and less “clumsy.” She argued that shorter names are easier in foreign countries.

As a young woman, Vaigė nee Vaigauskaitė got married and became Trofimovienė, using the traditional ending. She said she did it because she wanted to be taken seriously.

“I can say why I did it. Even though I identified myself with feminism and women rights values, I felt that at that moment (married by 24) I needed the protection of an –iene ending, especially while talking about women rights. When women talk about women rights and gender inequality, it is a common thing to look at their surnames: if she’s not –ienė, whatever she says does not matter, because it comes from the lips of a spinster. I thought if I was –ienė, I could talk more freely and people would maybe listen to what I say, instead of writing it off,” she said. After her marriage ended she switched to Vaigė.

The land feminism forgot

The traditional legacy is not only felt by those trying to change trends. Sigita Guobužienė, from the small town of Utena in northeast Lithuania told Baltic Reports that when she got married, there was not any other possibility.

“Back then it wasn’t even possible. Only in recent years has this came,” Guobužienė, who married in 1980 said. “Nobody was even thinking about that then. It was simply the language tradition, that’s it.”

Indeed while some of the women’s rights established in the first wave of feminism in the early 1900s were recognized in the Soviet Union, the second wave of the 60s and 70s that revived the use of the title “Ms.” broke along the Iron Curtain, as censorship and political repression largely prevented its ideas from entering the communist world.

Lithuania’s gender pay gap remains at 20 percent according to Eurostat figures, above the European Union average of 17.6 percent. Fellow Baltic state Estonia has the highest gender pay gap in the EU with 30 percent. [/private_subscription 1 month] [private_subscription 4 months]“-ienė” ending the chance to have a neutral surname that did not announce their marital status.

Out of 322 marriages registered in May in Vilnius, 24 women chose to change their marital status, but keep their maiden name, 28 chose to keep the unmarried status. Another 28 opted for a double surname with their husband’s name and their maiden name. Another 144 chose the traditional surname for married women and another third of those married took their foreign husband’s surname.

The Vilnius Civil Registration Division told the Baltic News Service that most women still opt for the traditional name. There was a similar situation in Kaunas, too where out of 174 marriages, 145 opted for the traditional name.

Klaipėda’s and Panėvežys’ civil registration service saw similar trends.

In 2003 the State Lithuanian Language Commission allowed the new “-ė” ending as a second option to the traditional ending. It said that the new endings are considered to be a second option.

Women’s rights activists in the country say that the ending is a useful tool for women to realise their rights in society.

“The possibility to choose a surname which does not reveal the woman’s marital status is absolutely essential for the exercise of her women’s rights,” Laima Vaigė, a Lithuanian women’s rights activist told Baltic Reports.

Vaigė said that women choose the traditional ending because they are pressured by society.

“It is of vital importance for a woman to choose whether to be labeled by an ‘-ienė’ ending, which on one hand shows ‘ownership’ of a woman, and on another hand, gives her a false ‘protection’ by the social status of a married woman. Conservative value judgments of Lithuanian society to this date influence women and cause them to choose the ‘–ienė ending,” she said.

Vaigė said that some women choose the modern suffix because they want a name that is short and less “clumsy.” She argued that shorter names are easier in foreign countries.

As a young woman, Vaigė nee Vaigauskaitė got married and became Trofimovienė, using the traditional ending. She said she did it because she wanted to be taken seriously.

“I can say why I did it. Even though I identified myself with feminism and women rights values, I felt that at that moment (married by 24) I needed the protection of an –iene ending, especially while talking about women rights. When women talk about women rights and gender inequality, it is a common thing to look at their surnames: if she’s not –ienė, whatever she says does not matter, because it comes from the lips of a spinster. I thought if I was –ienė, I could talk more freely and people would maybe listen to what I say, instead of writing it off,” she said. After her marriage ended she switched to Vaigė.

The land feminism forgot

The traditional legacy is not only felt by those trying to change trends. Sigita Guobužienė, from the small town of Utena in northeast Lithuania told Baltic Reports that when she got married, there was not any other possibility.

“Back then it wasn’t even possible. Only in recent years has this came,” Guobužienė, who married in 1980 said. “Nobody was even thinking about that then. It was simply the language tradition, that’s it.”

Indeed while some of the women’s rights established in the first wave of feminism in the early 1900s were recognized in the Soviet Union, the second wave of the 60s and 70s that revived the use of the title “Ms.” broke along the Iron Curtain, as censorship and political repression largely prevented its ideas from entering the communist world.

Lithuania’s gender pay gap remains at 20 percent according to Eurostat figures, above the European Union average of 17.6 percent. Fellow Baltic state Estonia has the highest gender pay gap in the EU with 30 percent. [/private_subscription 4 months] [private_subscription 1 year]“-ienė” ending the chance to have a neutral surname that did not announce their marital status.

Out of 322 marriages registered in May in Vilnius, 24 women chose to change their marital status, but keep their maiden name, 28 chose to keep the unmarried status. Another 28 opted for a double surname with their husband’s name and their maiden name. Another 144 chose the traditional surname for married women and another third of those married took their foreign husband’s surname.

The Vilnius Civil Registration Division told the Baltic News Service that most women still opt for the traditional name. There was a similar situation in Kaunas, too where out of 174 marriages, 145 opted for the traditional name.

Klaipėda’s and Panėvežys’ civil registration service saw similar trends.

In 2003 the State Lithuanian Language Commission allowed the new “-ė” ending as a second option to the traditional ending. It said that the new endings are considered to be a second option.

Women’s rights activists in the country say that the ending is a useful tool for women to realise their rights in society.

“The possibility to choose a surname which does not reveal the woman’s marital status is absolutely essential for the exercise of her women’s rights,” Laima Vaigė, a Lithuanian women’s rights activist told Baltic Reports.

Vaigė said that women choose the traditional ending because they are pressured by society.

“It is of vital importance for a woman to choose whether to be labeled by an ‘-ienė’ ending, which on one hand shows ‘ownership’ of a woman, and on another hand, gives her a false ‘protection’ by the social status of a married woman. Conservative value judgments of Lithuanian society to this date influence women and cause them to choose the ‘–ienė ending,” she said.

Vaigė said that some women choose the modern suffix because they want a name that is short and less “clumsy.” She argued that shorter names are easier in foreign countries.

As a young woman, Vaigė nee Vaigauskaitė got married and became Trofimovienė, using the traditional ending. She said she did it because she wanted to be taken seriously.

“I can say why I did it. Even though I identified myself with feminism and women rights values, I felt that at that moment (married by 24) I needed the protection of an –iene ending, especially while talking about women rights. When women talk about women rights and gender inequality, it is a common thing to look at their surnames: if she’s not –ienė, whatever she says does not matter, because it comes from the lips of a spinster. I thought if I was –ienė, I could talk more freely and people would maybe listen to what I say, instead of writing it off,” she said. After her marriage ended she switched to Vaigė.

The land feminism forgot

The traditional legacy is not only felt by those trying to change trends. Sigita Guobužienė, from the small town of Utena in northeast Lithuania told Baltic Reports that when she got married, there was not any other possibility.

“Back then it wasn’t even possible. Only in recent years has this came,” Guobužienė, who married in 1980 said. “Nobody was even thinking about that then. It was simply the language tradition, that’s it.”

Indeed while some of the women’s rights established in the first wave of feminism in the early 1900s were recognized in the Soviet Union, the second wave of the 60s and 70s that revived the use of the title “Ms.” broke along the Iron Curtain, as censorship and political repression largely prevented its ideas from entering the communist world.

Lithuania’s gender pay gap remains at 20 percent according to Eurostat figures, above the European Union average of 17.6 percent. Fellow Baltic state Estonia has the highest gender pay gap in the EU with 30 percent. [/private_subscription 1 year]

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