Hubby can now take your name

CONCOURT: BIRTHS, DEATHS REGISTRATION ACT 'COLONIAL' AS TWO MEN CHALLENGE IT

- Molefe Seeletsa

Husbands are now permitted to legally adopt their wives' surnames, the Constitutional Court ruled yesterday.

The court confirmed sections of the Births and Deaths Registration Act were unconstitutional, effectively upholding a lower court's ruling.

This follows a September 2024 judgment by the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein, which found that Section 26(1)(a) to (c) of the Act, along with Regulation 18(2)(a), was discriminatory on the basis of gender.

The case arose after two husbands lodged a legal challenge, arguing the law barred them from taking their wives' surnames after marriage.