Major victory for African women

It is disconcerting to realise, a quarter of a century since this country attained democracy, that there are some gravely discriminatory laws still on the statute books. The Constitutional Court moved this week to remove a piece of legislation which makes African women unable to own property and leaves them permanently dependent on the male heads of their families. The court ordered parliament to rectify the law, which dates from the apartheid era.

The law applies to cases where deeds of grant issued by particularly the former homeland governments – Bantustans – were later converted to a right of ownership. African women were specifically excluded from the provisions of the Upgrading of Land Tenure Rights Act of 1991.

The court ruled that the legislation discriminated against women because only men could be regarded as the head of the family. The judgment said also that the legislation was “irrational and unconstitutional”.

The National Assembly has been given 18 months to make corrections.

The victory is a major one for African women, who are at the bottom of the societal pyramid in South Africa when it comes to discrimination and bias.

There is still a long way to go – especially in terms of sexism and gender violence – but this is a start.