SOUTH AFRICA COURT RULES WOMEN CAN INHERIT IF NO WILL

October 1, 2003 – (Reuters) A South African court has ruled two girls can inherit their father's property because the traditional custom that the nearest and oldest male relative takes precedence if there is no will is unconstitutional.

Activists said Wednesday they hoped the ruling would set a precedent for the continent where wives and daughters are often excluded from inheriting property of a deceased relative who dies without a will.

The Women's Legal Center, which filed the case on behalf of the two girls ages 9 and 2, said it would take the case to the Constitutional Court in the hope the country's highest court would confirm the ruling, the first of its kind in South Africa.

``In practice, if confirmed, it will mean that women and girls, children, illegitimate children, and children other than the eldest male can inherit from their parents' estates, regardless of the nature of their parents' relationship,'' the Women's Legal Center said in a statement.

Under the African customary law rule of primogeniture, the nearest eldest male relative of the deceased is the first in line for inheritance should he die without a will -- to the exclusion of the wife and female children.

At stake in the case was the girls' home in Cape Town's Khayelitsha township where they lived until their father died last year. The mother had no claim to the house even though they lived together for 12 years because they never married.

The Cape High Court declared unconstitutional and discriminatory the rule that excludes women, girls, younger male children and illegitimate children from inheriting with no will.

Similar laws are common throughout Africa and are seen as partly to blame for the poor social and economic status of many women on the continent.

``It will ... bring an end to discrimination against these groups on the basis of race, sex, gender, social origin and birth and will respect and protect their rights to equality and dignity,'' the Women's Legal Center said.

The group said it expected a decision by the Constitutional Court by year-end or early next year.

In the meantime, they were advising South Africans involved in the winding up of family estates where there was no will to delay concluding the proceedings pending the decision.

South Africa's constitution is considered one of the world's most progressive, guaranteeing equal treatment for all regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation or religion.

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