By BAKANG MOKOTO
16 June 2025 – The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs said it concluded the North West leg of the public hearings on the Marriage Bill. Committee said this was the 5th province to host the public hearings on the Bill after Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga, as part of the committee’s nationwide public consultation exercise to gather citizens’ input on the draft legislation.
The Chairperson of the Committee, Mosa Chabane said they held public hearings in the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality, where the Bill continued to receive general support from members of the public. Chabane said political parties, representatives from the religious sector, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) and the LGBTQI+ community were among stakeholders who made submissions to the committee at Banquet Hall in Vryburg.
“Most of the citizens welcomed the Bill’s objectives to consolidate all the existing marriage laws into one legislation and recognise Muslim marriages which were previously excluded.
“The public had reservations about the proposed 18 years age of consent for marriage and suggested to the committee it must be increased to 21 years,” she said.
Chabane further said this view was motivated by the feeling among citizens that 18 years was too young and must be upped to 21 years. She added that they argued that most people at that age were still finishing high school and must focus on school and not marriage.
“There were also calls for the law to impose harsh prison sentences for anyone who marries an underage and parents who married off their children who were below the legal age of consent.
“The public believe that poverty was one of the main drivers for this. Religious leaders continued to voice their objections to the clauses on same sex marriage, using biblical scriptures to back their argument, while others told the committee that same sex marriages were a threat to procreation,” said Chabane.
She said other members of the community warned religious leaders against imposing their belief system on others and infringing on individuals’ right of choice. Chabane said other submissions included proposals for the Bill to have provisions that will protect individuals, who were cohabiting, also called “vat en sit” colloquially.
“Some of the submissions such as husband getting consent of the first wife before marrying another wife and the issue of marrying in community or out of community of property are already included in the draft Bill.
“We thank the public, religious community, political parties, NGOs and everyone who has contributed to this discussion. We welcome all your valuable inputs,” she said.
Chabane said the committee will continue with the public consultations until all nine provinces are covered before making its decision on the Marriage Bill. She said the Bill aims to consolidate the different marriage laws, which include the Marriage Act, Recognition of Customary Marriages Act and the Civil Union Act, into one inclusive legislation for all types of marriages.
“It will also implement a judgment of the Constitutional Court to recognise Muslims marriages which have been previously excluded from the current legislation,” said Chabane.
The Guardian 