South Africa’s Constitutional Court overturned a long-standing law that only permitted women to take their husbands’ last names after marriage in a historic ruling, ruling that husbands can now lawfully adopt their wives’ surnames.
Sections of the 1992 Births and Deaths Registration Act that discriminated against men and upheld antiquated patriarchal standards were ruled unconstitutional by the court. For many years, the law allowed women to easily change their last name after marriage, but it did not grant men the same privilege.
Two couples who were directly impacted filed the case. In one, Home Affairs rejected Henry van der Merwe’s request to adopt his wife Jana Jordaan’s last name. In another, Andreas Nicolaas Bornman attempted to become Donnelly-Bornman by hyphenating his last name with that of his wife, Jess Donnelly, but he was also blocked.
They were supported by the Constitutional Court, which ruled that the limitations were an obvious breach of South Africa’s Constitution’s guarantees of equality and dignity. In a court opinion, Justice Nonkosi Mhlantla characterized the previous clauses as “a remnant of gender discrimination that erodes individual choice in marriage.”
The ruling means Parliament must now amend the Births and Deaths Registration Act and related regulations to reflect this new reality. Lawmakers have been given 24 months to make the necessary changes, ensuring that both men and women enjoy equal rights when it comes to choosing a family surname.
While the amendments are still to be drafted, the judgement is already being hailed as a victory for gender equality and personal freedom. Many South Africans see it as a progressive step toward dismantling patriarchal traditions and giving couples the right to decide, together, what surname best represents their family.
