In a landmark decision, South Africa’s top court has opened the door for husbands to legally adopt their wives’ surnames, shaking up old gender norms in marriage. The Constitutional Court declared parts of the Births and Deaths Registration Act unconstitutional because they unfairly discriminated against men based on gender.
This ruling came after two couples fought for their rights. Henry van der Merwe wanted to take his wife Jana Jordaan’s surname, but the Department of Home Affairs blocked him. Similarly, Andreas Nicolaas Bornman couldn’t hyphenate his name with his wife Jess Donnelly-Bornman’s to create Donnelly-Bornman. The case kicked off in March, and the judges delivered their verdict on Thursday, with the home affairs and justice ministers as key respondents.
The court didn’t hold back on why this matters. It pointed out that the old custom of women changing their surnames to match their husbands’ stems from colonial times. “This practice reinforced patriarchal norms where women were seen as subordinate to their husbands and expected to assume their identity,” the judges noted in their decision.
To give lawmakers time to fix the law, the court suspended the ruling for 24 months. During this period, Parliament must either tweak the existing Births and Deaths Registration Act or create new rules so everyone—regardless of gender—can freely choose to take on a spouse’s surname.
On top of that, the home affairs minister has to cover the couples’ legal costs, including fees for two lawyers. This move toward gender equality in surnames is a big win for modern South African marriages, challenging outdated traditions and promoting fairness for all.
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