Court Grants South African Men Right to Take Wife’s Surname
South Africa’s Constitutional Court has struck down a discriminatory law that barred husbands from taking their wives’ surnames, a landmark ruling that affirms gender equality.
The decision came after two couples challenged the Births and Deaths Registration Act, which prevented men from either adopting or hyphenating their wives’ surnames. The court declared the restriction a “colonial import” rooted in patriarchal, Western traditions and a violation of constitutional equality rights.
One of the couples, Henry van der Merwe and Jana Jordaan, fought the case after Van der Merwe was denied the right to use his wife’s surname. Another, Andreas Nicolas Bornman and Jess Donnelly, argued against the refusal to hyphenate their names.
In its ruling, the court noted that in many African cultures, women historically retained their birth names after marriage, and children often took their mother’s clan name, practices disrupted by colonial impositions.
The judgment paves the way for Parliament to amend the Act and its regulations. Significantly, the Ministers of Home Affairs and Justice did not oppose the couple’s application, acknowledging the law’s outdated and discriminatory nature.
The case marks a victory for equality and freedom of choice in marriage, reinforcing the principle that both men and women have the right to decide on their family identity.
