In a landmark decision, South Africa’s High Court has ruled that men should be allowed to adopt their wives’ surnames after marriage, striking down a previous law that prohibited the practice.
The ruling, issued on Thursday (September 11), declared the existing legal ban to be a form of gender-based discrimination. According to the court, the restriction served no legitimate governmental purpose and has now been suspended, paving the way for legislative reform in Parliament.
“The law reinforced patriarchal gender norms that dictate how women may express their identity,” the court stated, emphasizing that the restriction tied a woman’s identity to her husband as a “default state-enforced cultural assumption.”
This legal breakthrough aligns South Africa with several other countries, including parts of Europe and some U.S. states, where men are legally permitted to take their spouses’ surnames.
