The South African Cabinet has approved a bill that would allow same-sex marriage.

The South African Cabinet has approved a bill that would allow same-sex marriage and make its country the first in Africa to grant to homosexual couples the same rights as heterosexual couples. If passed by the parliament, South Africa would join Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Spain in sanctioning same-sex unions and would counter the long African tradition of persecuting such relationships.

Karen Ann Gajewski is a freelance editor and an editorial consultant to the Humanist.