Ramaphosa signs bill to recognise Muslim marriages
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed into law the Divorce Amendment Bill which amends the Divorce Act of 1979 to recognise Muslim marriages.
The new legislation is a response to an earlier Constitutional Court judgment, which recognised the need for and importance of protecting Muslim women and children of Muslim marriages, particularly when a Muslim marriage is dissolved.
Two years ago, the court ruled that the lack of recognition of Muslim marriages infringes on the dignity of Muslim women.
It found that Muslim women and their children were not afforded the legal remedies and protections that are available under the Marriage Act.
“The amended legislation addresses shortcomings in the Divorce Act of 1979 which differentiated between people married in terms of the Marriage Act and people married according to Muslim rites, especially women,” Vincent Magwenya, spokesman to the South African President said in a statement on Thursday.
Until now, Muslim couples who choose to marry according to Islamic law can only be afforded the statutory protection of the South African legal system as it pertains to civil spouses if they, in addition to their marriage under Islamic law, register a civil marriage.
According to the South African Presidency, the amendments enacted by President Ramaphosa provide for a definition of a Muslim marriage in the Divorce Act of 1979.
This entails the protection and safeguarding of the interests of dependent and minor children of a Muslim marriage; the redistribution of assets on the dissolution of a Muslim marriage and forfeiture of patrimonial benefits of a Muslim marriage.
South Africa’s Women’s Legal Centre launched the application to recognise Muslim marriages in 2014.