Government is developing a new marriage policy for the country with a view to creating one single consolidated marriages act, home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi has said.
On Friday, Motsoaledi hosted the first of a series of dialogues with relevant interest groups, which include gender and human rights activists, traditional leaders, religious leaders, academia, NGOs and government leaders. These dialogues have been scheduled for the next two months and the minister envisages that the proposed new bill will be ready for submission to the cabinet by March 2021.
Prohibition of under-age marriages — particularly under-age girls — would codify in law the protocol on gender and development of SADC, which SA has ratified. Another situation to be addressed by the new law is when a partner to an opposite sex marriage subsequently has gender realignment surgery. Currently, the department will automatically annul the marriage even if the partners want to stay married, meaning they then have to get married again.