Create Training Opportunities For S. African Women

Hlomelikusasa staff recently ran several workshops on the Recognition of Customary Marriage Act and the drafting of a will. Workshops took place in Tongaat, Rietvlei and Vryheid communities located throughout KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. In total, an estimated 120 people participated. It’s important to note that over 60% of the participants were women, a trend that continues to increase in the communities where Hlomelikusasa is present. The women exhibited an eagerness to understand how the Act affects their lives and what rights the have under this law. Participants openly shared their experiences in regards to their particular family situations.

Awareness of the Act is surprisingly limited, especially among people who were married under their customary practices versus a legal civil marriage. The training covered the following areas:

• Requirements to validate a customary marriage and the different between a civil marriage and a customary marriage • The crucial role that should be taken by women to protect their children regarding their rights to shelters, education, clothing, etc • Who can assist if one wishes to draft a will, including issues of confidentiality and how a woman’s beneficiaries can be protected • Registration procedures of a customary marriage and the examples of the forms required to be filled out

Questions and discussions sessions are entertained in the workshops. Hlomelikusasa also uses group work sessions to find out what people think about the topic versus their community beliefs, religion and other dynamics.

Based on a cross-section of participants in several communities, Hlomelikusasa has observed that though the Recognition of Customary Marriage Act has commenced, the people most affected by the Act, were not included in sharing their views and feelings concerning the Act. It is difficult for them to understand how they can meet the requirements of the Act, especially when they are now required to retroactively prove the validity of their marriage. Those who have gone through the process found it demanding to provide information on sensitive issues such as bride wealth, legal power to spouses married in community, change in matrimonial property system, guardianship and custody. Hlomelikusasa continues to play a critical role in translating the rights and requirements of South Africa’s new constitution to rural women and their families.

Links:

• Read the Recognition of Customary Marriage Act