It further states that a child above the age of 18 may be engaged to be married, but only provided she or he has expressly consented to marry. The Children’s Act expressly prohibits the giving out of a child, either in marriage or engagement, where that child is below the minimum age of 18.
#Are arranged marriages legal full#
Speakers advised that international and national legislative provisions stipulate that marriage can only take place with the full and free consent of both parties, and that both parties must be of marriageable age, being 18. Participants were reminded that the rights to equality and non-discrimination are paramount and fundamental rights and principles, which take precedence over any cultural, traditional or religious rights or practices. Representatives from the KwaZulu-Natal Council of Churches and inter-faith communities spoke out strongly against any practice of forced or underage marriage, stating that this goes against religious scriptures, texts and beliefs, and should not be tolerated within our society. It was further reiterated that the practice should take place in accordance with cultural prescripts, that the parents of the intending bridegroom be informed of the process and that no sexual intercourse should take place between the couple until formal negotiations have been concluded. They stressed that the practice should only take place where the couple intending to marry through this practice have both consented, and that the girl is of marriageable age in terms of South African legislation, being 18 years of age.
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Stakeholders from the national and provincial Houses of Traditional Leaders all spoke to critical elements of the traditional practice of ukuthwala, which should be adhered to. Dube-Ncube also called upon traditional leaders to take this message and engage in dialogue at the district level with their membership, to raise awareness, foster dialogue, and eradicate harmful practices.
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She stressed the importance of bringing back the family nucleus in ensuring that as a society, we raise children under the protection of their parents and the communities we come from.
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MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Honourable Ms Nomusa Dube-Ncube, set the scene by stating clearly that as Government, they have no intentions of stripping away cultural practises, but to rather enhance our culture: “That is why in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal we have a social cohesion programme called Azibuye emasisweni, where we partner with the institution of traditional leadership to ensure that together, all sectors of society we collectively find ways and mechanism of fighting this scourge of abuse of women, children and the elderly, and other related social ills”.ĭube-Ncube, further added that it is imperative that strong partnerships are formed so as to ensure that as a collective we all play our part in fighting those who abuse and misuse culture and customs in perpetuate evil deeds against young girls, women and the elderly. The intention of the dialogue is to secure traditional and religious leaders as champions in eradicating these practices, and establish appropriate reporting, response and awareness interventions to this end. One of the resolutions taken by the Executive Council was that the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) together with the Commission should initiate a dialogue with amaKhosi and other stakeholders to deliberate on the harmful manner in which this custom is being practiced, contrary to tradition.Įqually, the Commission is concerned at the incidence of under-age arranged marriages within certain religious communities, in terms of which girls below the permissible age of 18, are either engaged to be married by their parents, or actually married, in contravention of the law.Īs a result of such practice within traditional and religious communities, girls below the age of 18 are either abducted, committed or forced into marriage, in violation of their Constitutional rights and South African legislation, with disastrous impact on their education, health and emotional well-being.Īccordingly, today, the Commission and COGTA KZN convened a dialogue on the customs of ukuthwala, and the practice of forced, arranged and under-age marriages within traditional and religious communities, and their relevance within the context of a Constitutional democracy. The Commission for Gender Equality recently made a presentation to the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Provincial Executive Council on the findings of its investigation into ukuthwala and underage marriages in KwaZulu-Natal.