Addressing Gender Equality: One Judgment at a Time
- Kamogelo Theledi
- Oct 7
- 2 min read
One of the greatest cornerstones of democracy is equality. In recent weeks, South Africa’s Constitutional Court has reignited national debate about gender equality, this time not in workplaces or public institutions where such discussions often unfold, but within the household.
In recent years, South Africa has become internationally renowned for being amongst the globe's most unequal societies, with extensive income and wealth disparities. The wealthiest 10% of society possess more than 80% of the country's wealth. The Cost of Politics study by the Westminster Foundation in collaboration with Futurelect found that both monetary and non-monetary constraints still restrict women from participating in politics. Women candidates for the 2024 election had specific costs like wardrobe changes and security for personal protection, outlays which were not generally needed from male opponents. Beyond money, women had to contend with emotional and logistical costs, such as disagreement with companions and hardship for reconciling home and childcare responsibilities with intensive election campaigns.
In September, the Constitutional Court took a symbolic yet effective step towards gender equality. It ruled that husbands should be permitted to legally adopt their wives' surnames, a practice previously unlawful for years under South African law. The court defined the prohibition as a colonial import and gender-based discrimination. In the ruling, the court noted that although South Africa had made a significant step forward on matters of gender equity, there remained out-of-touch legislation and societal culture that sustained stereotyping, which did not allow for effective equality.
Only a few weeks later, the Constitutional Court issued another landmark ruling on parental leave. The court, unanimously, ruled that all parents of newborn babies have the right to equal parental leave, a decision greatly welcomed for being a triumph for family rights and gender equality. Currently, under the law, women have the right to a maternity leave of four months, while their husbands have paternity leave of ten days. The court ruled such a practice unconstitutional and discriminatory, and therefore decided that there should be a measure allowing for the division of the total leave entitlement between the parents.
These rulings have evoked meaningful discussions on social media. For the most part, though, they have lifted the debate on gender equality into a fresher and yet more intimate sphere: home. They force South Africans to contemplate what equality does or should mean within the African domestic sphere and how changing attitudes on gender, relationships, and parenting are shaping that space differently. Through case-to-case resolution of gender gaps, with the law, the South African Constitutional Court not only reconstructs legal precedent but redraws what it means to live within a truly equitable society.
