The Affirmative Action (Employment) Act, Act No. 29 of 1998, requires Government to take positive steps to promote women’s equality and aims to achieve equal opportunity in employment in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. The Married Persons Equality Act, Act No. 1 of 1996, abolished marital power, which previously gave husbands in civil marriages all the decisionmaking powers. Men and women to a marriage shall be entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. The Traditional Authorities Act, Act No. 25 of 2000, places a duty on traditional authorities to promote equality between men and women, particularly by promoting women to positions of leadership. The Local Authorities Act, Act No. 6 of 1992, as amended, contains an affirmative action provision which requires that all political parties participating in the local authority elections must include a specified number of women candidates on their lists of candidates, depending on the size of the council. For example; three women for a council of 10, and five women for a larger council. The Combating of Rape Act, Act No. 8 of 2000, provides for a broad definition of rape, which criminalizes instances where women are subjected to harmful cultural or traditional practices in the context of rape. The Communal Land Reform Act, Act No. 5 of 2002, governs the allocation of communal land, and provides for the equal rights of women to apply for land rights in communal areas. It further secures the rights of widows to inherit the communal land allocated to their late husbands, even if they remarry. It further provides that women must be represented on the communal land boards to monitor the implementation of the Act. The Combating of Domestic Violence Act, Act No. 4 of 2003, contains an extensive definition of domestic violence, to include physical, sexual, economic, verbal, emotional and psychological violence, intimidation and harassment. It further provides for the issuing of protection orders and police warnings in domestic violence matters. It also has provisions which should give added protection to complainants that lay criminal charges against their abusers. The Act gives police specific duties in domestic violence incidents, including the duty to help complainants get access to medical treatment and collect their personal belongings. - 49 -