Constitutional Court rules that Men can now take their wives’ surname.

The law under The Births and Deaths Registration Act which was passed in 1992 only permitted women to change their surnames. The South African Constitutional Court has ruled that men now have the right to take their wives’ surnames after marriage.

Previously the law only allowed women to take men’s surnames while men would have to go through a long and tedious application process that would not guarantee success. Justice Leona Theron has delivered the judgment which noted that this restriction has violated the right to equality guaranteed by South Africa’s Constitution. Justice Theron added that this specific law has served no legitimate purpose to the government and simply entrenched gender discrimination. The passing of this law was not opposed by either the Minster of Home affairs nor the Minister of Justice, which signifies a priority to promote the values entrenched in the constitution such as fairness and equality

This decision is symbolic in recognising family identity as a choice rather than a gender. It affirms that equality should extend into everyday realities such as marriages and family life. We eagerly await the first quintuple-barrelled surname of a polygamous husband.