Johannesburg - A desperate Midrand father has taken to illegally protesting outside his baby’s mother’s workplace every day in a bid to get her to agree to let him see his child.
The man reportedly stands with a placard reading “PLEASE tell [the baby’s mother] to stop denying me access to our daughter. Every child needs a father.”
Neither parent can be named in order to protect the child’s identity.
The 30-year-old father told The Star he has seen his child only once this year after their legal teams arranged a meeting.
He says she has left him with little choice but to protest because she ignores his phone calls and e-mails. He claims the woman ended their relationship in November last year and has since ignored his pleas to see their 11-month-old child.
According to the law, biological fathers have full parental rights and responsibilities if he has attempted to contribute to his child’s upbringing for a reasonable period of time, says legal expert Yusuf Boda on Legalandtax.co.za.
This comes a few weeks after the social justice department drafted a White Paper that recommends the provision of paternity leave for fathers, Sapa reports.
As the law stands, only three days of family responsibility leave are provided for fathers.
NGO Sonke Gender Justice worked with the department in drafting the paper that seeks 10 days’ paternity leave.