Opinion piece by: Pearl Kupe
Article source: Supplied

Background
On Thursday, 11 September, 2025, the Constitutional Court of South Africa ruled that husbands may assume their wives names. The case was brought before the Constitutional Court by Henry Van Der Merwe who alleged that he was denied the right to take on his wife, Jana Jordaan’s surname. The other parties to the matter were Andreas Nicolas Bornman who  wanted to hyphenate his surname to include that of his wife’s (Jess Donnelly Bornman).

The Court found that section 26(1)A to C of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 51 of 1992 was unconstitutional as it was in violation of section 9(1) of the South African Constitution. Section 9 (1) of the Constitution is the section which guarantees the right to equality and freedom from unfair discrimination.

This ruling now overturns a previous law barring men from assuming their wives names. The pronouncement of the court was to the effect that barring men from assuming their wives surnames amounted to gender discrimination.

The matter was unfortunately not opposed by the Minister of Home Affairs nor the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and therefore remained unopposed.

The Power of the Constitution
After South Africa became independent in 1994, one of the very first assignments for the newly born nation was to draft a new constitution. This constitution was was promulgated on 18 December 1996 and came into effect on 4 February 1997. It was hailed as one of the best constitutions in the world.

In reality the South African constitution is one of the worst constitutions in the world. it’s extreme liberality goes against the principles of righteousness, integrity, ethics and morality. Psalms 97:2 states that righteousness and justice are the foundation of God’s throne and Proverbs 14:34 says that “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people”. The Constitution of South Africa with its liberality has laid a foundation for unrighteousness to enter the land.

What can the righteous do if the foundations be destroyed?
Psalm 11:3 says what can the righteous do if the foundations be destroyed?

The constitution is the most supreme law of the land. Every other piece of legislation takes it strength, powers and legitimacy from the constitution. As such the Constitution forms the foundation of all legislation in the land. Any law or conduct that is inconsistent with the constitution becomes invalid. If we want nations that operate in righteousness, it becomes imperative, that we align the constitutions of nations with the Ultimate constitution of all, which is the Bible, the Word of God.

The Chickens have are now coming home to roost
Over the years, we have seen a number of unrighteous laws being passed to allow the killing of the unborn, sexual immorality etc. Currently there is a case in Courtlodged by SWEAT, (Sex Worker Education and Advocacy Taskforce) to legalise prostitution. This most recent case of allowing men to assume the names of their wives is the latest in a long line of proposed immoral and unethical legislation and court cases.

Until and unless the Body of Christ and active citizens of South Africa take a stand against these unrighteous laws, immorality will continue to grow at an alarming rate.

Implications on the family
The family is the pillar of society. A dysfunctional family results in a dysfunctional society, Church and nation overall. This is the reason why the family gate and pillar has been under attack for the past few decades. When you disempower the family, you have disempowered a nation. What are the exact and direct consequences of this constitutional court ruling:

  • Confusion in the family-the ruling is going to cause confusion in the family in terms of leadership of the family unit. There are clear rules that the bible lays out in terms of family leadership and this ruling will blur the lines of family leadership;
  • Division in the family-the ruling carries a serious potential to divide the family and initiate debates and arguments around whose surname should be used for the members of the family;
  • Exacerbating the gender wars-the enemy has used feminism and misogyny to widen the gap and hostility between the genders.Genesis 1:27 says “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them”. God’s intention was for there to be unity and reconciliation between the two, and not war. The issue of whose surname will be used as the family name will widen an already existing gender gap and deepen the already existing hostilities. Families will be further divided with children being torn over who surname they should assume;
  • Overall identity of the family is endangered. This ruling will also result in families bearing different names and contribute to the overall breakdown of the family. The ruling invites a whole host of confusion in terms of marriage laws, property laws, inheritance laws, insurance policy laws, immigration laws etc. The implications are far reaching and wide and likely to place the nation into further confusion and turmoil if acted upon;
  • Further Amendment of legislation. Legislation will need to be amended to align with this constitutional court judgement. One of the acts that will have to be amended by Parliament is the Births and Deaths Registration Act.

Way forward

  • Prayers for the nation-The Body of Christ and nation must intercede and raise up a cry on behalf of the nation;
  • Pray for an opportunity to amend the South African constitution. The ruling was made on the basis of section 9 (1) of the constitution. Section 9 of the constitution, along with many other sections of the constitution need to be amended;
  • Action by Churches and traditional leaders who should mobilise educate, and lead a charge to discourage citizens from exercising this constitutional court granted right.

#KeNako
#TimeToPrayAndAct
#FaithWithOutWorksIsDead

Pearl Kupe-Attorney & International consultant to world leaders & International organizations. She is the International President-Global Forum for Women Entrepreneurs- www.gfwe.co.za. Personal website on www.Pearlkupe.co.za. She is the TBN Africa DSTV channel 343 Host on Ambassador of Change, Sundays at 13h00 and Wednesdays at 09h30 and 19h30(SAST)

You can follow Pearl on facebook page Pearl Kgomotso Kupe  https://www.facebook.com/pearl.kupeii?_rdc=1&_rdr

Click here to KEEP UPDATED on the latest news by subscribing to our FREE weekly newsletter.

> Please support Christian media and journalism in South Africa. Help us to spread the Word of God and take a stand for the truth by making a donation to our ministry. We appreciate your support. Click here to take hands with JOY! Magazine. 

Date published: 12/09/2025
Feature image: Image for illustrative purposes only. Artwork adapted from www.freepik.com

DISCLAIMER
JOY! News is a Christian news portal that shares pre-published articles by writers around the world. Each article is sourced and linked to the origin, and each article is credited with the author’s name. Although we do publish many articles that have been written in-house by JOY! journalists, we do not exclusively create our own content. Any views or opinions presented on this website are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the company.