Assignment: Customary Law and Constitutional Rights Essay

Words: 2461
Pages: 10
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Name: Gretchen Lubbe
Studentnr: 4177-520-1
Course: HRV1601
Assignmentnr: 01

Customary law & The Constitutional rights of women, children, the LGBT community and foreigners.

Table of contents 1. Introduction 2. Children’s rights 3. Women’s rights 4. LGBT rights 5. Foreigners rights 6. Conclusion 7. Bibliography

1 . Introduction

For many people, customary law is the most important law in their lives, controlling areas of their lives like their marriages, their property, and their right to inherit. But some customary laws discriminate against women, children, the LGBT community and foreigners alike. This is largely because Customary law gives women and or children & gays, less power than …show more content…
We may say that violence against women is the direct manifestation of the ideology of male superiority. Certain rules of customary law allow for inequality among people to continue, especially for women and girls, who remain economically and socially inferior to men. This makes women dependent upon relationships that may, at the same time, put them at risk for HIV and may force them into situations of vulnerability like sex work. (http://section27.org.za.dedi47.cpt1.host-h.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/09Manual.pdf )

The South African Law Commission has, and still is, examining different parts of customary law with the aim of doing away with unfair discrimination – for example: in the customary laws on marriage and succession. For a long time, customary unions (marriages) did not have the same full legal status as civil marriages (eg magistrate’s court marriages) had in South African law. (http://section27.org.za.dedi47.cpt1.host-h.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/09Manual.pdf ) This was unfair discrimination, completely at odds with the South African Bill of rights, and made women in customary marriages vulnerable. Women married under customary law had limited legal status. They were either given the status of minors or they fell under their
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