The state says objections received from Muslim groups, some of whom accused legislators of attempting to interpret the Qur’an, made it difficult to enact laws recognising Muslim marriages. Picture: www.wallpaperflare.com Objections that the State received from Muslim groups, some of whom accused legislators of attempting to interpret the Qur’an, made it difficult to enact laws recognising Muslim marriages. The State attorney has raised this argument in papers filed at the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) on behalf of President Cyril Ramaphosa and Justice Minister Ronald Lamola. Ramaphosa and Lamola sought to appeal a 2018 judgment that gave Parliament 24 months to enact legislation recognising Muslim marriages. The Women’s Legal Centre brought this matter before the courts to find legal protection for women in Muslim marriages and their children. Judge Siraj Desai delivered what was celebrated as a landmark judgment at the Western Cape High Court in August 2018, declaring the State’s failure to pass Muslim marriage laws as unconstitutional. Ramaphosa and Lamola were headed to the SCA to argue that his judgment was legally flawed. The State attorney’s affidavit rejects the finding that there was unconstitutionality in not enacting Muslim marriages law. There was no constitutional obligation in the […]
