Parliament,Tuesday, 19 November 2024 – Several religious leaders, cultural activists and general members of the public from Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality and surrounding areas have told a delegation of the Portfolio Committee Home Affairs that they have reservations about the Marriage Bill.
The committee is currently subjecting the Bill to public consultations and this week the committee split into two delegations to hold public hearings in Gauteng Province. During the public hearings in Tshwane, most of the speakers held strong religious and cultural views and argued against some provisions in the bill such as same-sex marriage and polyandry.
The Marriage Bill seeks to harmonise all the different marriage laws into one, accommodating all cultures and religious beliefs. The religious leaders and advocates of culture and tradition told the committee that the Bill in its current form will undermine culture and tradition, which do not recognise the concept of polyandry and marriage between people of the same gender.
Other critics of the draft legislation told the committee that the Bill is too liberal,and they proposed that a law must have limits, instead of allowing and legalising every societal trend. There were also those who felt there was no need for a single legislation to govern all types of marriages, as this could undermine some cultural and religious right.
The religious leaders felt very strongly about proposed plans in the Bill to prevent Department of Home Affairs’ officials from refusing to conduct marriages that go against their personal beliefs, this was seen as a violation of religious rights. A proposal was made for an exemption to ensure people are not penalised for their beliefs.
The Bill was also criticised for its silence on the practice of ‘ukuthwala’, an ancient form of arranged marriage that involved the abduction of a woman to be taken to the home of the would-be husband without the agreement of the parents. Citizens who spoke on this subject said the practice should be outlawed as it involved the kidnapping of underaged girls to be forced into marriage with older men.
The committee also heard that the Marriage Bill must provide for mechanisms to deal with fake or fraudulent marriages between South African women and foreign males, which they said was done for citizenship and the women are paid for this.
Another suggestion that came up strongly during the public hearings in Tshwane was for the legal age of marriage consent to be changed from 18 to 21 or 25, arguing that most 18-year-old are still at school.
The leader of the delegation, Ms Moleboheng Modise-Mpya, dismissed suggestions that Parliament will continue with the legislation irrespective of the feelings of citizens and submissions against the Bill.
“This is not a lip-service or tick-box exercise. We will not decide for yourselves. You are the custodians of the laws and we are facilitators of the process. All your views and comments are important for the committee and will be treated equally during consideration of the final amendments,” she said.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE LEADER F THE DELEGATION OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON HOME AFFAIRS, MS MOLEBOHENG MODISE-MPYA.
For media enquiries or interviews with the committee Chairperson, please contact:
Name:Sakhile Mokoena
Cell:081 705 2130
E-mail:smokoena@parliament.gov.za
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