In 2019 in South Africa, adult women need their husbands’ permission to keep their birth names. In some instances, they even need evidence of their father’s consent. This is according to home affairs officials. It is a common lament among married women that the Department of Home Affairs changes their name to that of their husband – unasked. It is usually working women who have professional personas, but often it is women who simply want to keep their birth name. For government, though, the reason should be irrelevant. By ticking the box on the marriage form that a woman wants to retain their birth name, she is giving the Department of Home Affairs a legal instruction. However, many home affairs officials around the country do not believe that women have the right to make this decision – or if women do decide to keep their name, they do not know…

Her nomination was approved by 383 votes in a secret ballot on Tuesday evening at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. There were 327 votes against her and 22 abstentions. After being elected by a narrow margin of just nine votes over the required 374, von der Leyen called for a “united and strong Europe.” The 60-year-old outgoing German defense minister and multilingual mother of seven will succeed Jean-Claude Juncker, who has served as president since 2014 and will step down on October 31. She will be tasked with leading the EU’s executive body and providing political guidance to the Commission, which proposes new laws, manages the EU budget and is responsible for enforcing EU law. Prior to the vote, von der Leyen made a series of promises to attract the support of parliament members from across the political spectrum. Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, she said that she wanted…

The four US congresswomen attacked by US President Donald Trump in tweets widely called racist have dismissed his remarks as a distraction. Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib urged the US people “not to take the bait” at a Monday news conference. President Trump had suggested the four women – all US citizens – “can leave”. He has defended his comments and denied allegations of racism. The president did not explicitly name the women in his initial Twitter tirade on Sunday, but the context made a clear link to the four Democrat women, who are known as The Squad. He sparked a furore after saying the women “originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe” and they should go home. Three of the women were born in the US and one, Ms Omar, was born in Somalia but came to the US…