“Logic Prevails”: SA Court Ruling Brings Good News for Muslim Marriages and Women’s Rights

• A South African high court has ruled that Muslim women have full access to civil divorce protections
• The ruling closes a legal loophole that some husbands had been using to try to bypass the civil divorce laws
• South Africans reacted to the news with a mix of relief and disbelief that the protection was not already in place

A South African high court has delivered a ruling that is being welcomed as a big win for Muslim women and children across the country. The Daily Maverick shared the story of a unanimous judgment by three high court judges. The ruling made it clear that a husband pronouncing talaq, the traditional Islamic form of divorce, does not take away a Muslim woman's right to civil divorce proceedings. Nor does it take away the right to interim financial protection while those proceedings are ongoing.

This ruling matters because of what has been happening since the Divorce Act was updated in 2024. Following a landmark Constitutional Court judgment in 2022, President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Divorce Amendment Bill into law in May 2024. This brought Muslim marriages under the protection of South Africa's civil divorce laws for the first time. Before this, Muslim women had no legal recourse when a marriage ended. They could not claim maintenance or inherit from their husband's estate. They also had no access to any of the financial protections that women in civil marriages had always been entitled to. The Constitutional Court found this to be a direct violation of their rights to equality and dignity.

Read also

Nigeria tells citizens to lie low amid KuGompo City protests as locals ask when they are going home

However, once the new law came into effect, some husbands began using talaq as a way around it. The argument was that if a husband pronounces talaq first, the marriage is already over under Islamic law, so the civil courts have nothing to finalise. Because of this, the wife cannot claim interim maintenance because she is technically no longer a spouse. The three high court judges rejected this argument completely. They found that the law was specifically designed to protect Muslim women from exactly this kind of situation. So now, talaq does not cancel out the rights the updated Divorce Act gives them. The court also confirmed that a Muslim woman cannot be made to give up those rights, even voluntarily.

View the Facebook post below:

SA debates court ruling on Muslim marriages

People had a lot to say about the ruling on the Facebook user @dailymaverick's post:

@Lynne Smith wrote:

"This is amazing news for our Muslim women and children. I did not realise they were excluded from this law. Makes one think why the men never fought for this. Great news, Muslim ladies."

@Mons Kindle said:

"So Muslim men were getting away with not paying maintenance all this time."

@Sulaiman Gatab wrote:

"Sad that the courts are needed to enforce a Quranic injunction. Good on our women for empowering themselves with their rights."

@Steve French said:

"A great win for Muslim women."

@Merle Bruyns simply added:

"About time."

@Samantha Suzanne Carr wrote:

"Logic prevails. Wow."

@Joy Myers said:

"No brainer."

More law changes making headlines

• Briefly News recently reported on China's new influencer law requiring influencers to meet qualifications to discuss professional topics online.
• Springboks coaches backed World Rugby's new high-ball law changes despite pushback from England and Ireland.
• AfriForum headed to court to challenge the Expropriation Act, calling it one of the most interesting legal battles of the decade.

Source: Briefly News