Constitutional Court Rules Husbands Can Now Adopt Their Wives’ Surnames in South Africa
The Constitutional Court in Bloemfontein has handed down a groundbreaking judgment allowing husbands to adopt their wives’ surnames.
The ruling, delivered on Thursday by Justice Leona Theron, declared sections of the Births and Deaths Registration Act of 1992 unconstitutional for discriminating on the basis of gender.
Couples Challenge Outdated Restrictions
The case arose from constitutional challenges brought by two couples: Jana Jordaan and Henry van der Merwe, and Jess Donnelly-Bornman and Andreas Nicolaas Bornman. Van der Merwe was previously barred from taking his wife’s surname, while Bornman was denied permission to hyphenate his surname to include his wife’s.
The couples argued that these restrictions reinforced outdated gender roles and violated the constitutional right to equality. The Bloemfontein High Court had earlier ruled in their favor, instructing the Department of Home Affairs to amend the affected records.
Constitutional Court Confirms High Court Decision
Justice Theron confirmed the High Court’s ruling, stating that the Act unfairly discriminated on gender grounds. The Constitutional Court upheld that men should have the same rights as women to choose or alter surnames after marriage.
The Department of Home Affairs was ordered to cover the applicants’ legal costs, including those of two counsel.
Government Did Not Oppose Application
Notably, both the Minister of Home Affairs, Leon Schreiber, and the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mamoloko Kubayi, did not oppose the application. This left the Constitutional Court to focus on balancing constitutional guarantees with existing legislative and administrative practices.
Social Media Reacts
@sipho_mate;
It depends on the weight of the surname like the Mandela surname carries so much weight and is very famous so whoever marries Mandela daughter or granddaughter can actually take that surname but it is giving simp vibes for me.
@skoax20;
Those justices are now subscribing to the woke virus – what judgement is this
@ZolekaMaseko15;
Oh Now foreign internationals are going to be bo pressmore maseko , Abdul khoza and Adebayo Fakude ?? Oh I see 👀 😏
@sipho_mate;
Our Nigerian brothers and Zimbabweans will have our surname the way our sisters are selling this country. Imagine having Chineke Mkhize. They will also take the clan name and call themselves Khabazela.
@penpenlop;
What did we do to deserve all this in this country?, why do they hate us?