South Africa legalises Muslim marriages

From The Cape Times and OnIslam.com

CAIRO – After 300 years of campaigning, a South African Muslims’ long-awaited dream has come true. The first graduate imams from a pilot project were authorized as legal marriage officers for the Muslim community on Wednesday, April 30. 2014

“This is definitely a step in the right direction for the long struggle to have Muslim marriages legalized,” Hoodah Abrahams, an attorney at the Women’s Legal Centre, told the Cape Times.

“We have been strong advocates to have it recognized,” she added.

Islamic marriages were not recognized in South Africa, until now.

Since the first Muslims came to the country 300 years ago, the governments did not recognize their marriages, putting them in a legal limbo.

Children born from these marriages were regarded as illegitimate, while women were not regarded as spouses when attempting to claim against their deceased husbands’ estates.

The first step to end this dilemma was fulfilled on Wednesday, April 30, when the first imams completed a three-day course to learn about the Marriage Act of 1961 and write an exam.

Being the first graduates of the pilot program, the new imams will work as official marriage officers for Muslims.

The graduation ceremony was attended by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, Home Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor, her deputy Fatima Chohan and leaders of the Muslim community.

All first-time Muslim marriages will now be recorded on the National Population Register, said Home Affairs spokesman Lunga Ngqengelele.

For Abrahams, the attorney, the new imams are expected to end Muslim women suffering for years as a result of their marriages not being recognized under the South African Marriage Act.

“In most scenarios, we find that when men are the breadwinners and when there are complications in the marriage, women are not favoured legally,” she said.

“We currently have a number of workshops to raise awareness for people who get married and are not aware that their marriages are not legally registered,” she added.

Muslims make up some 1.5 percent of South Africa’s 49 million-strong population, according to the CIA fact book.

Relief at Last

The long-awaited Islamic marriage officers brought hope of justice to South Africa Muslims who have suffered for not having their marriages recognized.

In 1994, the case of Hanover Park grandmother, the now late Suleiga Daniels, shocked Muslims after the elderly woman lost her house after the government refused to recognize her as the surviving spouse of her husband, Moegamat Daniels.

The couple had moved into their home when they were married in 1977 and shared it for 17 years until his death. Daniels’ case was won in 2011.

“Our mother died in March last year. I’m very pleased to hear that Muslim marriages will be recognized at last,” Daniels’ daughter Yasmina Mohamed told the Cape Times.

“Muslim women will now be better protected. My mother had a very long battle to get what rightfully belonged to her and had vowed not to give up.”

In another case, Fatima Gabie Hassam’s marriage was recognized only after a lengthy legal battle in 2004 when the Western Cape High Court ruling in her favour was referred to the Constitutional Court for confirmation.

“Muslims in South Africa have suffered the indignity of non-recognition for more than (three centuries) and it is certainly a step in the right direction for the imams to be recognised as marriage officers,” Hossam’s city attorney Igshaan Higgins said.

“However, any celebration should be suspended until Muslim Personal Law becomes a reality for all those Muslim wives, mothers, daughters and sisters who suffer proprietary hardships on a daily basis as a result of non-recognition.”

The long-awaited decision was praised as “ground-breaking” for Muslim marriages after decades of attempts to have them recognized.

“We’ve been involved in the program since we first raised the question about Muslim marriages with Home Affairs,” he said.

“We contacted different imams, those who belonged to the MJC and those who didn’t, to join the course.

“This is a ground-breaking step for us. For the first time in our history our marriages will be recognized and our children won’t be seen as illegitimate in terms of the law,” he said.

http://www.onislam.net/english/news/africa/472007-s-africa-legalizes-islamic-marriages.html