‘Women enter marriages poorer’: ConCourt strikes down Divorce Act provision over unfair pension rules
The apex court determined that Section 7(7)(c) was inconsistent with Sections 9(1) and 9(3) of the Constitution.
The Constitutional Court ruled that excluding pension interests from asset division in divorce cases is unconstitutional and violates women's constitutional right to equality. The court found that the law unfairly disadvantages women, who typically enter marriages poorer and less financially independent than men. The ruling follows a 2025 Eastern Cape High Court decision which found the provision amounted to gender discrimination.
The case involved a marriage entered into under an ante-nuptial contract in 2004, with the wife arguing she had pursued profitable business projects and her husband's pension interests were worth about R1.5 million. The court confirmed the high court's decision, suspending its operation for 24 months to allow Parliament time to amend the Divorce Act.
Written by urgent.news from The Citizen's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
