South Africa court allows men to take their wives’ surnames

The ruling came after two couples approached the Constitutional Court. REPRESENTATION PIC/ISTOCK

South Africa's highest court, the Constitutional Court, has ruled that husbands are now legally allowed to take on the surnames of their wives.

The court ruled that certain sections of the current Births and Deaths Registration Act are "unconstitutional," as they "unfairly discriminate on the grounds of gender".

The ruling was made after two couples approached the court, with one man not being allowed to take the surname of his wife and another disallowed from hyphenating his surname to include that of his wife.

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