South African Men Now Legally Allowed To Take Their Wives’ Surnames

South Africa’s Constitutional Court has ruled that men can adopt their wives’ surnames, striking down gender-discriminatory sections of the law.

The Constitutional Court in South Africa has ruled that men are allowed to assume their wives’ surnames, declaring Section 26(1)(a) to (c) of the Births and Deaths Registration Act unconstitutional for unfairly discriminating on the basis of gender.

The ruling comes after applicants Jana Jordaan and Henry Van Der Merwe, alongside Jess Donnelly-Bornman and Andreas Nicolas Bornman, approached the apex court in March to confirm the invalidity of the law.

Van Der Merwe had been denied the right to adopt his wife Jordaan’s surname, while Bornman was refused the ability to hyphenate his surname to include his wife Donnelly’s name.

Although the applicants successfully challenged the section in the Free State Division of the High Court, the confirmation of constitutional invalidity by the Constitutional Court was required for the decision to take effect.