South Africa’s highest court on Wednesday recognised the right of a 66-year-old woman to become chief of her tribe, a position held only by men in the past.
The Constitutional Court decision said the woman, Tinyiko Lwandlamuni Phillia Nwamitwa-Shilubana, had the right to succeed her father as chief, despite her cousin’s claim that he was the rightful heir.
Shilubana could not initially succeed her father in 1968, when he died without a male heir, because tribal laws at the time did not permit a woman to hold the position.
Her uncle took up the post instead, but in 1996 and 1997, Valoyi tribal authorities decided Shilubana would succeed her uncle since South Africa’s new Constitution provided for male-female equality.
But when her uncle died in 2001, his son — Shilubana’s cousin — challenged her succession, saying he should be chief.
Two previous courts ruled in her cousin’s favour, but the Constitutional Court disagreed, saying tribes had the right to change and adapt their laws.
”The traditional authorities had the authority to develop customary law,” the court ruled. ”They did so in accordance with the constitutional right to equality.” — Sapa-AFP