ABSTRACT
One of the central planks of the new South African government has been to upgrade the role of women in society and to attempt to deal with the plight of young blacks. Women of all ages want their voices to be heard and regard equal rights between women and men and the equitable sharing of responsibilities to be vital to the well-being of humanity (RDP News, October 1995). As Thenjiwe Mtintso puts it ‘the eradication of patriarchy depends on changing attitudes’ (Mtintso 1996). In terms of the legal status of women, the Common Law rule, whereby a husband obtained marital power over his wife and her property, was repealed by the General Law Fourth Amendment Act in December 1993. The amendment meant that a married woman would now have the same management powers as her husband. The Guardianship Act of 1993 giving a married couple equal guardianship rights over minors came into effect in January 1994. Previously, only the father had been the natural guardian of a minor child born within marriage.
