Gender equality

At the time of her death, the deceased, Maria Mahlangu, was a domestic worker in a private home in South Africa. Ms. Mahlangu’s daughter and grandchild were financially dependent upon her at the time of her death. Ms. Mahlangu’s daughter asked the Department of Labour for help in the form of compensation under the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA) or unemployment insurance benefits. The Department of Labour denied both because Ms.

The action arose from an appeal of two High Court decisions that were issued in 2016. A local women’s group (Mahila Mandals) and other self-help groups challenged the validity of a tender notice issued by the state of Maharashtra that year. The tender awarded a contract to large corporations with strong political connections for the supply of nutritional food supplements to beneficiaries under the ICDS.

The Gumedes were married in 1968, before the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998, which entered into force on November 15, 2000. Section 7(1) of the Recognition Act provided that customary marriages entered into prior to the date of the commencement of the Act (old marriages) were governed by customary law, while section 7(2) provided that customary marriages entered into after the date of commencement of the Act (new marriages) were marriages in community of property. Ms. Gumede was directly affected by Section 7 after Mr.