2LT International News

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa: South Africa’s Constitutional Court has struck down an apartheid-era law that prevented men from taking their wife’s surname or hyphenating both family names, declaring the restriction unconstitutional.

The landmark ruling, delivered this week, requires lawmakers to amend the legislation within two years, opening the door for husbands to legally adopt their wife’s last name.

The case centered on the Births and Deaths Registration Act of 1992, which has long governed changes to surnames in South Africa. Under the law, only women were allowed to change their names after marriage, reinforcing traditional gender roles. The court found that the statute amounted to unfair discrimination on the basis of gender.

Justice Leona Theron, writing for the court, said the legislation failed to treat spouses equally and perpetuated outdated assumptions about marriage. “The law unfairly discriminates based on gender,” she ruled, upholding a lower court decision from September 2024 that had already declared the act unconstitutional.

The ruling was prompted by two separate cases brought in 2024. In one, Andreas Nicolaas Bornman and Jess Donnelly-Bornman sought to register a hyphenated family name to reflect both of their surnames. In another, Henry van der Merwe wanted to take his wife, Jana Jordaan’s, surname after marriage. Both were denied by the Department of Home Affairs, prompting the constitutional challenge.

Reactions to the judgment have been mixed. Supporters hailed it as a long-overdue step toward gender equality in Africa’s most advanced democracy. Some noted it would help preserve rare family names that might otherwise disappear. Others, however, criticized the move as undermining cultural traditions. On X, one user claimed the decision was an attempt to “destroy the norms and values” of Black Indigenous Africans.

The court’s order gives Parliament and President Cyril Ramaphosa two years to update the Births and Deaths Registration Act to reflect the new constitutional standard. Until the law is formally amended, the ruling provides legal recognition for men who want to change their surname to that of their wife or share a hyphenated name.

South Africa has a history of progressive family law reforms. In 2006, it became the first African nation to legalize same-sex marriage, allowing either partner to decide on surname changes after marriage. The country also formally recognizes polygamous marriages, in which men may take multiple wives according to customary practices.

While the latest ruling is unlikely to affect most married couples, legal experts say it signals an important step in dismantling laws rooted in the country’s apartheid past and reaffirming constitutional guarantees of equality. For many, it marks yet another evolution in how South Africans understand family, identity, and tradition.