SOUTH Africa’s highest court has ruled that men in the country are legally permitted to adopt their wives surnames.
The ruling marks a significant step forward for gender equality in marriage.
In a win for two couples who challenged the law, the Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday, September 11, that the section 26(1)(a) to (c) of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, which had restricted men from taking their wives’ surnames under specific conditions, amounted to gender-based discrimination.
According to media reports, Henry van der Merwe faced a bureaucratic wall when attempting to register himself under his wife’s surname, Jana Jordaan, while Andreas Nicolas Bornman was prevented from hyphenating his surname to include that of his wife, Jess Donnelly-Bornman.
The couples contended that the law was outdated and patriarchal, infringing on the equality rights guaranteed by South Africa’s post-apartheid constitution.
They first won their case in the High Court but sought confirmation of the ruling from the Constitutional Court.
The Free State Society of Advocates also joined the case in support of the couples.
They argued the law reinforced harmful stereotypes by denying men a choice that women already had the right to adopt their spouse’s surname.
A media report said neither Home Affairs Minister, Leon Schreiber, nor Justice and Constitutional Development Minister, Mamoloko Kubayi, opposed the couples’ application, leaving Parliament responsible for amending the Births and Deaths Registration Act and its regulations before the ruling can be implemented.
Following the ruling, the invalid sections of the Act will remain suspended for 24 months to give Parliament time to amend the law.
In the meantime, men are now permitted to take their wives’ surnames at the point of marriage.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.