Gender equality in African customary law : has the male ultimogeniture rule any future in Botswana?

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dc.contributor.author Fombad, Charles Manga
dc.date.accessioned 2014-12-10T07:08:49Z
dc.date.available 2014-12-10T07:08:49Z
dc.date.issued 2014-09
dc.description.abstract The actual and perceived conflicts between customary law and human rights law, especially in issues dealing with gender equality, have remained a major challenge in Africa. Some of these conflicts are further complicated by the varying and contradictory interpretation of some customary laws by the courts. Different approaches have been adopted at different times and in different places to deal with some of these conflicts. One of the most controversial areas of customary law has been the traditional exclusion of women from property inheritance. This paper takes a critical look at how the courts in Botswana have dealt with the issue of the right to inherit the homestead or family home. It examines this issue in the specific context of the recent case of Ramantele v Mmusi in which the Court of Appeal had to consider the customary law rule of male ultimogeniture – which permits only the last-born son to inherit the homestead intestate to the exclusion of other siblings, especially females. It argues that courts need to be more proactive and progressive in their approach to dealing with such issues than they have been in the past in order to recognise the nature and extent of changes that are taking place today. The main lesson that can be drawn from the Botswana case is that if customary law is to survive and develop, more needs to be done to promote research and scholarship in this area and judges also need to take advantage of this research and deal with these customary law disputes with knowledge, understanding and sensitivity. en_ZA
dc.description.embargo 2015-09-30 en_ZA
dc.description.librarian am2014 en_ZA
dc.description.uri http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=MOA en_ZA
dc.identifier.citation Fombad, CM 2014, 'Gender equality in African customary law : has the male ultimogeniture rule any future in Botswana?', Journal of Modern African Studies, vol. 52, no. 3, pp. 475-494. en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn 0022-278X (print)
dc.identifier.issn 1469-7777 (online)
dc.identifier.other 10.1017/S0022278X14000391
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2263/42918
dc.language.iso en en_ZA
dc.publisher Cambridge University Press en_ZA
dc.rights © Cambridge University Press 2014 en_ZA
dc.subject Gender equality en_ZA
dc.subject African customary law en_ZA
dc.subject Botswana en_ZA
dc.subject Courts en_ZA
dc.subject Male ultimogeniture en_ZA
dc.subject Right to inherit the homestead or family home en_ZA
dc.title Gender equality in African customary law : has the male ultimogeniture rule any future in Botswana? en_ZA
dc.type Article en_ZA


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