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A spouse is a significant other in a marriage. In certain contexts, it can also apply to a civil union or common-law marriage. Although a spouse is a form of significant other, the latter term also includes non-marital partners who play a social role similar to that of a spouse, but do not have rights and duties reserved by law to a spouse. A male spouse is called a husband while a female spouse is called a wife.
A civil union is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage.
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal sex. As of 2023, marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 34 countries that have a total population of more than 1 billion people, with the most recent being the pending legislation in Estonia.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in South Africa since the Civil Union Act, 2006 came into force on 30 November 2006. The decision of the Constitutional Court in the case of Minister of Home Affairs v Fourie on 1 December 2005 extended the common-law definition of marriage to include same-sex spouses—as the Constitution of South Africa guarantees equal protection before the law to all citizens regardless of sexual orientation—and gave Parliament one year to rectify the inequality in the marriage statutes. On 14 November 2006, the National Assembly passed a law allowing same-sex couples to legally solemnise their union 229 to 41, which was subsequently approved by the National Council of Provinces on 28 November in a 36 to 11 vote, and the law came into effect two days later. South Africa was the fifth country in the world and the first in Africa to legalise same-sex marriage.
Human rights in Uganda as a state relates to the difficulties in the achievement of international rights standards for all citizens. These difficulties centre upon the provision of proper sanitation facilities, internal displacement, development of adequate infrastructure, as well as the mistreatment of the LGBT community, women, and children. Nonetheless, Uganda is, as per the Relief Web sponsored Humanitarian Profile – 2012, making considerable developments in this area.
In April and May 2007, following a previous attempt in 2005, the Oregon state legislature passed legislation to make virtually all of the rights afforded by the state to married couples available to same-sex couples. The status is referred to in Oregon law as a domestic partnership, avoiding the use of the terms marriage or civil union. Governor Ted Kulongoski signed the bill on May 9, 2007. While January 1, 2008 was the date the statute would have taken effect, a court challenge had delayed its implementation. It was resolved on February 1, 2008, and the law went into effect that day, with registrations beginning on February 4, 2008.
Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Connecticut since November 12, 2008, following a state court decision that found the state's civil unions failed to provide same-sex couples with rights and privileges equivalent to those of marriage. Connecticut was the second U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage, after neighboring Massachusetts.
Africa's fifty-six sovereign states range widely in their history and structure, and their laws are variously defined by customary law, religious law, common law, Western civil law, other legal traditions, and combinations thereof.
It is thought that multiple ethnic groups in South Africa have long-standing beliefs concerning gender roles, and most are based on the premise that women in South Africa are less important, or less deserving of power, than men. Some view African traditional social organizations as male centered and male dominated. One prevailing caricature of Afrikaner religious beliefs includes a strong emphasis on the theoretically biblically based notion that women's contributions to society should normally be approved by, or be on behalf of, men. Claims are even made of modern sexism and Christianity being introduced into South Africa by the ancestors of the Afrikaner diaspora.
Under civil law, Nigeria does not recognize polygamous unions. However, 12 out of the 36 Nigerian states recognize polygamous marriages as being equivalent to monogamous marriages. All twelve states are governed by Sharia law. The states, which are all northern, include the states of Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara which allows for a man to take more than one wife.
While polygamous marriages are not legally recognized under the civil marriage laws of Namibia, a bill was successfully passed in 2003, based on the model in South Africa, which recognizes polygamous unions under customary law; affording a generous amount of benefits to polygamous unions, ranging from inheritance rights to child custody. It has been estimated that nearly one in seven women in Namibia live in polygamous relationships, which has resulted in large numbers of unmarried men.
The legal status of polygamy varies widely around the world. Polygyny is legal in 58 out of nearly 200 sovereign states, the vast majority of them being Muslim-majority countries. Some countries that permit polygamy have restrictions, such as requiring the first wife to give her consent.
South African customary law refers to a usually uncodified legal system developed and practised by the indigenous communities of South Africa. Customary law has been defined as
an established system of immemorial rules evolved from the way of life and natural wants of the people, the general context of which was a matter of common knowledge, coupled with precedents applying to special cases, which were retained in the memories of the chief and his councilors, their sons and their sons' sons until forgotten, or until they became part of the immemorial rules.
In South Africa, marriage exists in a number of different forms, as a result of the diversity of religions and cultures in the country. A man in South Africa may have more than one spouse but a South African woman may only have one spouse. Historically the legal definition of marriage, derived from the Roman-Dutch law, was limited to monogamous marriages between opposite-sex couples. Since 1998 the law has recognised marriages, including polygynous marriages, conducted under African customary law, as well as religious laws such as Islamic law. In 2006 the South African constitutional court ruled in favour of recognizing same-sex marriage. It is currently the only country in the world to recognise both polygamy and same-sex marriages, albeit not in conjunction.
The topic of same-sex unions and military service concerns the government treatment or recognition of same-sex unions who may consist of at least one servicemember of a nation's military.
In civil law jurisdictions, marital power was a doctrine in terms of which a wife was legally an incapax under the usufructory tutorship of her husband. The marital power included the power of the husband to administer both his wife's separate property and their community property. A wife was not able to leave a will, enter into a contract, or sue or be sued, in her own name or without the permission of her husband. It is very similar to the doctrine of coverture in the English common law, as well as to the Head and Master law property laws.
Same-sex marriage is legal in the following countries: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Uruguay. Same-sex marriage is recognized, but not performed in Israel. Furthermore, same-sex marriages performed in the Netherlands are recognized in Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten. Same-sex marriage will be recognised in Estonia by 2024.
The Recognition of Customary Marriages Act, 1998 is a South African statute in terms of which marriages performed under African customary law, including polygynous marriages, are recognised as legal marriages. It also reformed the law relating to the legal status of women in customary marriages, the financial consequences of a customary marriage and the dissolution of customary marriages, replacing the customary law with statutory provisions. The act was signed by President Nelson Mandela on 20 November 1998 but only came into force on 15 November 2000.
Child marriage is a marriage or union between a child under the age of 18 to another child or to an adult. Child marriage is common in a multitude of African countries. In South Sudan, child marriage is a growing epidemic. Child marriage in South Sudan is driven by socioeconomic factors such as poverty and gender inequality. Current figures state that South Sudan is one of the leading countries in the world when it comes to child marriage. Child marriage has negative consequences for children, including health problems and lower education rates for South Sudanese girls. Many initiatives have been taken to combat child marriage in South Sudan, but the presence of societal norms and instability continues to drive its presence in the nation.
UNICEF's Early Marriage: A Harmful Traditional Practice report characterizes child marriage as a harmful institution that often exposes young women in developing nations to damaging domestic, health, and sexual conditions. The report also highlights the practice as a human rights violation. In World Vision's "Before She's Ready: 15 Places Girls Marry by 15," the organization highlights the socioeconomic consequences of child marriage on girls, noting that many girls are forced to stop their schooling as a result of their marriages. With the denial of education, girl brides are often not able to make income as adults or become politically active citizens.
References
- ↑ Nishimura, Jenna; Wright, Tracy; Hickey, Heather; Berman, Daniel; Carmichael, Erin; Cook, Alicia (Winter 2008), Examining the Life of Women in Western Africa (PDF), CEDAW, archived from the original (PDF) on Mar 1, 2012
- ↑ "West Africa". Archived from the original on Jan 16, 2014.
- ↑ "Achieving gender equality and women's empowerment in Africa" (PDF). The African Development Forum (ADF VI). November 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-02-04. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
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