South Africa’s highest court has struck down a law that prevented men from taking their wives’ surnames, calling it discriminatory and out of step with the constitution.
In a landmark judgment, the Constitutional Court sided with two couples who argued that the rule entrenched outdated, patriarchal norms.
One of the petitioners, Henry van der Merwe, was denied the right to adopt the surname of his wife, Jana Jordaan. Another, Andreas Nicolas Bornman, was blocked from hyphenating his name to include that of his wife, Jess Donnelly.
“This law treated men and women unequally in a way that could not be justified in a democratic society,” the judges ruled.
The couples had first won their case in the High Court, but asked the Constitutional Court to confirm the ruling. Their legal challenge was supported by the Free State Society of Advocates, which argued that the law reinforced damaging gender stereotypes.
“It denied men the very choice granted to women, perpetuating the notion that a wife’s identity should change, while a husband’s must remain fixed,” the group argued in court.
Neither the Minister of Home Affairs, Leon Schreiber, nor the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mamoloko Kubayi, opposed the application, according to local media reports.
The judgment means Parliament must now amend the Births and Deaths Registration Act and its regulations before men can legally register their wives’ surnames.
Campaigners say the ruling is more than a technical change. They see it as another step in dismantling legal remnants of South Africa’s patriarchal past, and a reaffirmation of the equality rights guaranteed in the post-apartheid constitution.
As one of the petitioners told local reporters outside court: “It’s not just about a name. It’s about choice, dignity, and equality in marriage.”
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