A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION OR ADDITIONAL BURDEN FOR WOMEN MARRIED IN TERMS OF ISLAMIC LAW? Women’s Legal Centre Trust v President of the Republic of South Africa [2022] ZACC 23

Abstract

Marriages concluded in terms of Islamic rites have until recently not enjoyed the same legal recognition that is accorded to civil and customary marriages. The non-recognition of Muslim marriages meant that there was no legal regulatory framework to enforce any of the consequences that arise as a result of the marriage. Furthermore, parties to a Muslim marriage were left without adequate legal protection when the marriage was dissolved either by death or divorce. In the absence of legal recognition and regulation of their marriages, Muslims (particularly Muslim women) endured many hardships and challenges. The consequence of non-recognition and non-regulation of Muslim marriages was that the married lives of Muslims remained unpredictable and outside their control. Non-recognition has also effectively meant that although parties to a Muslim marriage regard themselves as married, there has been no legal connection between them. The confirmation judgment of the Constitutional Court in Women’s Legal Centre Trust v President of the Republic of South Africa ([2022] ZACC 23) sought to remedy the dire situation in which parties found themselves when they were married in terms of Islamic law; it provides interim relief for Muslim marriages until such time as the State either enacts legislation or amends existing legislation to grant legal recognition and regulation of Muslim marriages.