South Africa’s Constitutional Court has struck down a law preventing men from adopting their wives’ surnames, declaring it discriminatory and unconstitutional.
The landmark ruling followed a legal challenge brought by two couples who argued that the Births and Deaths Registration Act unfairly restricted husbands, while granting wives the freedom to take their husbands’ surnames.
In one case, Henry van der Merwe was denied permission to adopt the surname of his wife, Jana Jordaan. In another, Andreas Nicolas Bornman was barred from hyphenating his surname with that of his wife, Jess Donnelly, to become Donnelly-Bornman.
The court ruled in favour of the couples, stating that the law amounted to gender-based discrimination.
Parliament has now been directed to amend the Births and Deaths Registration Act, as well as its accompanying regulations, to bring them in line with the ruling.
The decision affirms equality in marital rights and sets a precedent for gender fairness in South Africa’s legal framework.
