Prohibition of Mix Marriages Act (1949)

One of a series of acts passed by the Nationalist Party government (1948-1990?) to regulate racial interaction and relationships in South Africa, on the basis of the political philosophy which came to be known as “Apartheid”. This particular act derives from social convention (often flaunted) in the Cape Colony and other provinces from the very beginning of the colonial period, which became enacted law toward the end of the 19th century when sexual relations between (white) “Europeans” and Africans were barred. The Union Government passed a similar law in 1927 and in 1949 the Nationalist Government expanded the interpretation of the law to encompass all “non-Europeans” and applied it to marriage per se.??? ****. In this sense it relied heavily on the interpretation and classifications of race as designated in the Population Registration Act of 1950. It was amended ** times, in 19**, 19**. Repealed in 1986. (See Boonzaier and Sharp, 1988; Brits, 1995; ***)

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