New Families, New Property, New Laws
The Practical Effects of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6222484 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mothokoa Mamashela (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2004 |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 616-641 |
| Publication date | 2004-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | South African Journal on Human Rights (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0258-7203 • E-ISSN: 1996-2126 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/19962126.2004.11865165 |
| OpenAlex | W1957016595 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
This article discusses the implementation of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998 with regardto the personal andproperty rights of marriedwomen. I argue that in traditional customary law women did not 'own' capital assets, namely, the landand cattle; they were the preserve of men. I point out that the new version of the 'official customary law' further reduced their inadequate legal capacity by relegating them to the status of minors. Although the Act seeks to redress this situation, the results of the study on which this article is based indicate that women in customary marriages still perceive themselves as minors andincapable of owning property. Furthermore, I show that the portable nature of the husband's wage, 'the new property' and the financial competition posedby 'a new family' make the implementation of 'the new law' problematic for rural women. Given the real lives of these women, the equality of status between husbands and wives and the community of property envisionedby the Act is likely to remain an illusion rather than becoming a reality
Community property · Law and economics · Political science · Property rights · Real property · Redress · Sociology · Feminism, Gender, and Sexuality Studies · History · Land Rights and Reforms · Law · Legal Issues in South Africa
South African Marriage in Policy and Practice
The Catch 22 situation of widows from polygamous marriages being discarded under customary law
Centring the intersection of race, class, and gender when a customary marriage ends
Negotiating property rights in southern africa through the novel magora panyama
The constitutionality of section 7(1) of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act
Forms of Femininity at the End of a Customary Marriage
| Unique citing works | 6 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.4 |
| Citation span | 2011 - 2017 (7) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |