DO WE STILL
HAVE A PLACE FOR POLYGAMY IN TODAYS WORLD?
Polygamy, the practice of numerous marriages,
has been around for thousands of years.
Although very popular in Africa, the
Far East and in Islamic countries, it is frowned upon by the majority of the
world's countries. It has, in the last couple of centuries, been prohibited by
countries like Hong Kong, China, and Thailand.
The general accord is that polygamy
is morally wrong as it infringes many religious convictions
And to the non-religious personalities
it just feels incorrect. In an important sense, making the non-religious case
against polygamy was not anything new for the Western custom. Already the early
Greeks and Romans, prior to the dawn of Christianity, had prohibited polygamy
for basis of nature, friendship, domestic effectiveness, political convenience,
and more. These non-religious points of view always remained at the establishment
of the continuing Western case against polygamy.
The vicious retribution for polygamy
included being “branded on the forehead, cheek and tongue with an ‘A’ for
adultery,” a ‘B’ for bigamist and “bored through the tongue with a red hot
iron” as an expression of the false promise made with the tongue.
John
Witte wrote,
“In (1696–1782) of Scotland’s
high court warranted monogamy as an expression of equality, “All men are by
nature equal in rank; no man is privileged above another to have a wife; and
therefore polygamy is contradictory” to the natural right of each person to
marry. “Men and women are by nature equal, Home argues at length,” Witte points
out. “Monogamous marriage is naturally designed to respect this natural gender
equality.” But an equality of a different sort can also be established through
allowing each person to have as many spouses as agree to marriage. Although
rejecting revealed theology, David Hume argued against polygamy as fostering
jealousy and competition among wives, as well as leaving many children without
proper paternal investment. The relationship between husband and wife is
poisoned as the husband seeks new wives and each wife comes to be viewed as a
replaceable commodity rather than an irreplaceable lover and friend.”
Times are shifting
Yes, the practice of polygamy has
been a custom, particularly in African tribes, where it was seen as a sign of authority
and riches, but times have shifted.
Today, the signs of affluence and authority
are very diverse. Successful figures drive luxurious Mercs and BMWs, escorted
by "blue light brigades".
They have massive mansions with exceptional
security and bodyguards. They are able to break laws and get away with bribery,
fraud and corruption without going to court.
It would make sense that having
multiple wives is no longer the sign of wealth and power that it once was and
could merely be an excuse to "get action".
Then we have HIV/Aids. Studies have
shown that polygamy accelerates the spread of HIV/Aids. This is very evident in
Swaziland, where a large number of people practice polygamy and the HIV rate is
one of the highest in the world.
With HIV spreading rapidly in South
Africa, we should be doing everything to stop this from happening.
As mentioned above, polygamy is
frowned upon by most of the world's countries.
How would other countries react to a
polygamist president when they morally and religiously oppose this practice?
Will other leaders show the same
respect to polygamist leaders that to monogamist leaders?
Is there peace
at the polygamy home?
John
Witte had these to say,
“Rivalry among co-wives, hatred
among half-siblings, disputes over inheritance, and even war. As Witte notes,
“The Hebrew word for a co-wife (tzarah) literally means ‘trouble’.” He
continues, “royal Greek polygamists had the same bitter experiences with
polygamy that befell the Old Testament polygamists.” Wives hated each other and
sought preeminence for themselves and their own children, half-sibling rivals
hated each other, and stepmothers and stepchildren hated each other most
intensely of all. Painful experience brought Athens and Jerusalem to the same
conclusion.”
Poverty
The UN Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination against Women says polygamy ought to be
discouraged and banned since such marriages are imbalanced and have unconstructive
emotional and economic impacts on women and children.
But men have taken numerous wives for
centuries, referring to the need to have a huge fa
A larger family was also by tradition
seen as a foundation of pride, prosperity and high social status and protective
for women in traditions where they cannot own assets like land.
Regardless of rising modernity and
awareness of women's rights, polygamy remains legal in most African nations and
is widespread across society, from farmers to senior politicians, such as
former South African President Jacob Zuma who has had six wives.
But for polygamy to work, women ought
to buy into the practice and the husband should have adequate income to look
after all of them and their offspring. Yet this is not always the case.
In Kenya, a wife's approval is not
legally obligatory for husbands to marry yet again, and men are frequently incapable
to adequately provide for them.
Almost 43 percent of families where
the man is in a polygamous union are unfortunate compared to 27 percent of
those in monogamous unions, says the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.
Poverty reaches 46 percent in families
where the woman is married to a polygamous man who does not live with her, it
says.
"Survival sex"
With most Kenyan women already poorer
than men, single mothers frequently struggle to provide schooling, food, health
care and protection for their children.
As a consequence, their offspring are
more vulnerable to diseases, from malaria to malnutrition, less likely to
complete school or get employment, and at higher risk of early marriage, sexual
exploitation or forced labor.
"There are a bunch of factors
which contribute to child susceptibility - but from experience it is clear that
poverty is one of the prime.
Children who are in single-parent family
circle are more susceptible and it can push them into many forms of
exploitation.
From Kenya's slums to its
palm-fringed seashores, thousands of children are having "survival
sex" for as little as a piece of Mandazi, a piece of fish or even just a
ride home.
In loads of cases there is a connection
to polygamy.
"My father took an additional
wife and my mother, I and my siblings had to go away," said 21-year-old
Chepngeno who began sex occupation in the beach resort of Diani when she was 14.
"I had to give up school and assisted
at home. I begun doing this as there was not anything else for me to do to get
some cash," she said.
Women campaigners called for the regime
administration to implement a law to register customary polygamous marriages,
so that women would have authorized proof of the marriage - making it easier
for them to claim child maintenance or the husband's assets or property.
If the law is put into operation and
women are given their entitlements, things will slowly change and greater
social responsiveness will ultimately see polygamy dying out."
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