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Public hearings on the Marriage Bill continue in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), and residents have shared their concerns.
The public hearings are conducted in line with section 59 of the constitution of South Africa, which mandates that parliament include the public in its law-making process.
While residents appreciated efforts for greater recognition of Customary Marriages and cultural practices associated with them, they also expressed concerns on some of the concerns.
The lobola price was among the concerns raised.
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Some residents argued that the Marriage Bill should regulate the current trend of exorbitant lobola prices.
Currently, no custom regulates lobola prices as they are decided by the two families involved.
According to the Marriage Bill, “a husband in a marriage who wishes to enter into a further marriage after the commencement of this Act, must— (a) obtain written consent from his wife or, in the case where there is more than one wife, his wives, as the case may be: Provided that, in the case of a royal family, the consent must be in accordance with the customs and traditions of such family; and (b) make an application to the court to approve a written contract which will regulate the future matrimonial property system of his marriages.”
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Although the granting of consent from the first wife is already widely practised, with the Marriage Bill proposing to legislate it, residents in Jozini took issue with it.
“There were some that raised concerns with the proposal that in order to enter into a polygamous marriage, a spouse requires written consent from the first wife. Participants argued that this has the potential to compromise customary practices, and they called for that condition to be removed from the Bill,” the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs said.
Residents of Greater Zululand District Municipality also cautioned the committee that the provision has the potential to increase gender-based violence (GBV) if the wife/wives are unwilling to give the consent required by law.
The women argued that should the first wives refuse to give consent, it could expose them to frustration and possible retaliation by their husbands.
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“This is a concern in the context of South Africa’s high GBV rate. There was also concern that the high illiteracy levels in rural areas could lead to fraudulent written consent being submitted on behalf of the wife/wives,” the committee was told.
The men who were against the provision argued that it would frustrate their intentions to enter into polygamous marriages.
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“They argued that there must be another platform where men could prove their financial ability to maintain polygamous marriages. Furthermore, some felt that the provision was unnecessary, as there are current cultural practices that set out the requirements for such a marriage to happen.”
Other residents supported the Bill, saying it would protect the property rights of women and children in the rural areas.
“This is because many husbands leave their wives in the rural areas and engage in civil marriages in cities, thereby risking the property rights of women married under customary marriages. This is worsened by the fact that legal fees are unaffordable to many rural women, rendering them unable to oppose these civil marriages in court.”
While others welcomed the prohibition of marriage to young children, they called for the Marriage Bill to include age gap limitations.
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They said older men and women marrying younger partners has far-reaching immoral implications.
“They called for the age gap limit to be 10 years.”
The hearings continue in KwaZulu-Natal.
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