South Africa's highest court has made a landmark ruling on Thursday, September 11, allowing husbands to adopt their wives' surnames.
The current Births and Deaths Registration Act of 1992 only allows women to change their last name after marriage, not men.
Striking down this law, the court said the law was a "colonial import" and amounted to gender-based discrimination.
South Africa's highest court has given lawmakers and President Cyril Ramaphosa two years to update the law.
The ruling came from a 2024 case filed by two couples against South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs for gender discrimination.
One couple wanted both their last names hyphenated while another husband wanted to take his wife's surname.
This ruling has sparked intense debate on social media with some people praise it as progressive move for South Africa while others criticize it for going against traditional cultural practices.
On the other hand, in 2006 South Africa became the first nation to allow same-sex marriage, allowing both partners to choose their last name after getting married.
In addition to this, the government also recognizes polygamous marriages, in which men can take multiple wives according to their ethnic group’s customs.