By Chollastic Tjehiua

Copyright namibian

Traditional leaders say the law is a Western concept– Most Namibians are not aware that the law has existed since 2024– Feminists say the law speaks to equality

Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust) lecturer Hugh Ellis-Mwiya says when he married his wife last year, his relatives asked if she was going to pay lobola for their wedding.

He says he and his wife, Munukayumbwa Ellis-Mwiya, both decided when dating to double-barrel their names, an approach that has been frowned upon by local traditional authoriti

“It was a way of showing our togetherness through our surnames that also preserve the different cultural traditions we both are from, and it was about love and using our surname to show that we have come together from two families,” Ellis-Mwiya, who considers himself a progressive man, told The Namibian. The couple’s name change was approved by the government earlier this year.

He says women have been double-barreling names for some time now but the men in the partnerships doing it is not common.

“If your wife is going to take your surname, you as a husband should also do the same, it just struck me as logical,” he says.

“Our families reaction has varied, I did get asked by some family members who’s the man in this relationship,” he says.

On the other hand, he says, he received admiration from the young women in his extended family.

‘MAN ENOUGH’

Community and gender activist Rosa Namises says some men are not comfortable taking their wives’ surnames because they are afraid of not feeling ‘man enough’.

Reacting to social media comments from the weekend that it was a taboo for a man to take his wife’s surname, Rosa Namises told The Namibian yesterday that the historical privileges of men are rooted in the continuation of their generation and family.

In 2024, Namibia passed the Civil Registration and Identification Act, modernising the rule around name changes after marriage. Both spouses regardless of gender can legally assume each other’s surnames. However, following the news that SouthAfrica’s High Court last week ruled that husbands can take the surname of their wives, some social media users said this was unheard of. The law was introduced in South Africa during the years of white-minority rule. The ruling in South Africa was a victory for a couple who brought the case. The Constitutional Court ruled that the law was a “colonial import” that amounted to gender-based discrimination.

“It was one of those unwritten privileges that was given to our men, just like when you marry it is your woman and you own her. I also remember many years ago when women got into professions they could stay with their own surname but the cultural impact was so strong that women had to change. So for me, if women had to change back then what is strange for men to change now?” Namises said.

She said societal gender roles make it difficult for men to easily report gender-based violence.

“You are belittling a man when he takes on the wife’s surname, that is the kind of notion that we hear and see even when people are arguing about this thing. This is something that is not taught, that men can take the wife’s surname. There are examples of men who took their wives’ surnames like Ngamane Karuaihe-Upi. We should not belittle him, it was a sign of consideration for this man to say I can do what my wife is obligated to do. Why should we obligate women and not men?” she asked.

“I don’t see anything taken from the men for taking their wife’s surname, I think it is about the ego,” she said.

SOCIETAL PERCEPTIONS

Landless People’s Movement national spokesperson Lifalaza Simataa says he supports husbands taking their wives’ surnames. He, however, says when people encounter a new concept they do not fully understand, it is natural to resist it, especially from a Namibian cultural context.

“They still have the patriarchy to lean on towards taking the name of your husband. There has not been a major shift in culture or acceptance as some sort of liberal nature to it, but I support the concept of husbands taking over the wife’s surname. It is good that this law exists, it allows for new ways of individuals to be open minded and move away from some ideals. This law has already existed, it is just that people are finding out now,” he says.

‘CULTURAL TABOO’

Despite the law allowing this in Namibia, local traditional authorities say husbands taking their wives’ surnames is a cultural taboo. Ovambanderu Traditional Authority spokesperson Uazenga Tjiposa yesterday told The Namibian it is against their culture for a husband to take the wife’s surname.

“It is not permitted, that is why you see when a woman is getting married there are rituals performed. The woman is applied with traditional oil to show they are being removed from their home into their husband’s home” he added.He emphasised that maybe in today’s generation it can happen but it is not permitted. “Those people who formulate laws have to consult the communities, to hear the views and values of that community, because sometimes they devalue the rituals of those communities,” he said.

Ombalantu Traditional Authority spokesperson Isdor Kanelombe yesterday said it is a European concept. However, Article 66 indicates that both common and customary law should be practised equally in Namibia.

“In Oshiwambo culture it is a taboo, it is not right for a husband to take his wife’s surname,” he said. “It is not that we do not want to accept it, we do not have a problem, but culturally it is not allowed.”

Ombara Jaukwaruze chief Johaness Dundu says traditionally it is not allowed. “This is something that was brought by the churches and the white people. Traditionally we use the first name of the father” he says.“When they call a woman they will say Dundu’s wife and not the other way around,” he says.

Changing a surname was previously regulated by the Aliens Act of 1937. Lawyer Norman Tjombe told The Namibian that in terms of that law, a woman may assume the surname of her husband upon marriage, without any further formalities. Similarly, after divorce or the death of her husband, the wife can change her surname back to her maiden name, without formalities.In all other instances, including husbands who want to assume the surnames of their wives, the surname could only be changed on making the appropriate application to the home affairs ministry, which includes a notice to be published in the local media and in the Government Gazette of the intention to change the surname.

“The legal position is due to change after Namibia’s parliament in 2024 passed the Civil Registration and Identification Act, which provides for a gender-neutral process of changing surnames for married couples, allowing either spouse to assume the other’s surname or a hyphenated surname at no cost,” he says.He says after a divorce, a spouse will also be able to revert to a previous surname for free. Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) director Toni Hancox yesterday said many laws are not known in Namibia.“That is why Namlex on the LAC website contains them all, promoting access to justice,” she said.