Polygamy is therefore, defined as a form of marriage in which a man, as the head of the family, can have more than one wife at the same time. Polygamy has been cited as a possible contributor to africas low savings rates tertilt, 2005, widespread incidence of hiv brahmbhatt et al. Both parties must have consented to the marriage under customary law. The average age of the participants was 30 years old. With many animals, the male leaves the female soon after mating and long before any offspring are born according to.
The women ranged in age from twenty six to fortyone years. Whereas it is believed erroneously among many people that polygamy implies the art of a man being married to more than one wife, the true definition of polygamy implies the. View effects of polygamy on women and children research papers on academia. They secured a small piece of land and began growing vegetables and other cash crops. This study is the first to examine and compare the psychological symptomatology, selfesteem and life satisfaction of women in polygamous and monogamous relationships in syria. Furthermore it prevents the husband from giving his whole heart to the woman of his choice, which we cannot but look upon as the natural ideal in marriage. Polygamy is often perceived as oppressive to women. Polygamy and poverty culture impacts women in rural africa by wnn. In most cases, women do not have access to their children if they decide to leave polygyny, nor are they allowed to take them, due to cultural ideas of ownership in relation to progeny.
Polygamy, in a large part of subsaharan africa, has long coexisted with a primitive system of agriculture in which women do most of the farmwork boserup 1970. Muslim men who intend to marry more women are expected to discuss their decisions with their first wives. Polygamy remains common and mostly legal in west africa. South africa is almost the aids capital of the world, mr madlala says. If a marriage includes multiple husbands and wives, it can be called a group marriage. Still, in a society where gender roles are very rigid and women do most of the work around the farm and household, some women like having a cowife. In the first period, men trade their endowments of wealth and sisters in return for wives. Africa has the highest rate of polygamy prevalence in the world therborn2006. Ending child marriage in africa human rights watch. You, poor women, will become nothing more than a dish at the buffet.
Typically, when a man gets a new wife, he clears a. Polygamy constitutes a prime feature of rural africa. When a woman is married to more than one husband at a time, it is called polyandry. Polygamy and islam polygamy and islam 5 one point greatly in need of clarification is the fact that in the matter of marrying more than one woman, the initiative does not lie solely with any individual man. But in 1896, leaders in utah, where the mormon faith was born, were forced to abandon such practice in exchange for statehood. In the continent of africa, the first anglicans to try to solve the problem of polygamy were, according to hastings, c. The reasons for its existence and persistence are varied and have been a source of fierce. Furthermore it prevents the husband from giving his whole heart to the woman of his choice, which. The impact of polygamy on women has both economic and emotional aspects. Through polygamous marriages women in precolonial africa often had greater personal autonomy. Polygamy not only violates the divine design that marriage should be a communion of life between just one man and one woman who then become two in one flesh gen. Polygyny and womens health in subsaharan africa penn arts. Two, represents well how polygamy began for participants who were first wives.
This idea was especially true in the 1850s, though as the decades passed, convincing young women to enter into plural marriage got tougher. Pdf on jan 1, 1998, philippe antoine and others published african polygamy. Polygamy in the united states is not limited to utah, mormons, or muslims, however. Jul 08, 2015 in a piece she wrote for the wall street journal in 2011, rose mcdermott, a professor of political science at brown university, wrote about her research on polygamy, which is practiced by substantial subcultures in france, britain, and the u. The polygamy was widely accepted throughout the world until the roman empire and the roman catholic church has imposed the rules of having just one wife, but multiple other lovers were the norm. The task of defining the start of the union is often left to the respondent. For example in senegal there are almost 47% of the marriages where they feature more than one woman. At first polygamy in western africa was very popular, but as islam has started to diffuse in this region, the prevalence of polygamy has significantly lowered due to the restriction that appeared to the number of wives a man could have. Violence against women in mozambique united nations.
Moreover, diseases associated with sex can even be viewed as male status symbols, especially in the muslim society. The decline in polygamy has been related to changing social conditions, the increase in democracy, the decline in arranged marriages, the increase in companionate marriage 17 and the improvement in the education of and human rights protections for women. Polygamy, which is defined as the practice of having more than one spouse, is a common, and widespread, socially as well as culturally accepted phenomenon in many african countries 1,2. Top 10 reasons why african men love polygamy expert. Effects of polygamy on women and children research papers. In the first of four s, the thesis considers chapter various cultural aspects of polygamy in subsaharan africa. Polygamy in subsaharan africa has been linked to poverty, infant mortality, and hiv. Women and colonialism african studies oxford bibliographies. As the result, those who were responsible for establishing social institutions the elders, including women, decided to come up with a marriage system that would address this. Polygamy and christianity in africa t a falaye, ph. Mar 25, 2019 in 1742, the bethlehem female seminary was established in germantown, pennsylvania, becoming the first institute of higher education for women in the united states. Apr 16, 2020 however, polygamy became controversial in america, specifically the among the mormon fundamentalists. For those regions in western africa a ected by the transatlantic slave trades, polygyny either emerged or was strengthened as an institution. Such was the situation that when africans started founding african independent and indigenous churches, they could not condemn polygamy at all.
In many parts of west africa, women were members of associations run by and for women, which gave women the final say in disputes over markets or agriculture. In the state of nature, people were generally polygamous, as are most animals. Violence against womenvaw refers to the violence acts perpetrated against. In tanzania the cnrle polygamy rate increased fonn 1. Polygamy from late greek, polygamia, state of marriage to many spouses is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. Polygamy was common and widespread in the ancient world and widely practiced among some religious groups. And successful women traders, such as the iyalodes in yorubaland, had a lot of. Womens precolonial political activity was generally disregarded by the colonial authorities, who turned exclusively to men when they established local political offices. Polygamy and poverty are both widespread in subsaharan africa. History of womens struggle in south africa south african. The problems with polygamy institute for family studies. Polygamy and poverty culture impacts women in rural africa.
The first wife acknowledges that the reader may not know the nuances of bride price, polygamy, and other specific cultural practices and explains them without being too disruptive to the readers experience, and the reader leaves with a deeper understanding of one womans experiences after living in two different marriage models. By exposing nearly all women to early and prolonged risks of pregnancy, the po. In africa, the americas, and southeast asia in the premodern era, circa 600 bce 1600 ce, both monogamy and polygyny occurred. All of the participants are married 15 had a postmatric qualification, whereas the remaining six participants had a matric qualification.
Wlsawomen and law in southern africa, an ngo specialized in research, analysis and. In the context of wartorn society in seventhcentury arabia, one which left many women widowed and children orphaned, the discussion of polygamy was revealed as part of a directive to treat female orphans justly. The truth is that most plural wives were younger than the first wife, so they werent exactly spinsters rescued by polygamy. Polygamy, or comarriage to multiple wives, is discussed in the quran as a response to a specific social situation. More than 5 million people in south africa are hiv positive the most of any country in the world. Anthropological pespectives cambridge university press cambridge 2001 102126. Apr 17, 2018 from about 25 years ago, when the number of women in top political leadership and parliament in africa started to rise, the first crop were warriors who had fought for womens rights in a hostile patriarchal africa dominated by reactionary powerful men. It is also defined as the other side of the coin when.
Polygamy is not a concept that is foreign to us on the african continent, or indeed other parts of the world. African indigenous churches chapter six freelance prophets. You can follow any responses to this entry through the rss 2. Despite this, the cultural practice still raises eyebrows. Polygamy devalues women and the only person who revels in it is the husband who gets to enjoy variety. A total of 21 women were recruited and participated in the study. All polygamous marriages entered into in accordance with the provisions of the recognition of customary marriages act are legal. Black polygamy has been low key trending for decades. Polygamy is legal under certain circumstances in south africa. Polyandry is another form of polygamy in which women practice having two or more husbands. Mar 21, 2007 in uganda, polygamy, whether tied by legal matrimony or as a matter of common law, is the norm. Drafters should include provisions which provide aid and assistance to wives of polygynous husbands. Women worldwide, in past and present, may take wholly different stands on abortion, genital mutilation, infanticide, womens seclusion, polygamy and homosexuality.
Yet most muslims are of the view that polygamy protects women from a life of celibacy, saves single, unemployed mothers from economic hardship, provides widows with companionship and gives unmarried women the opportunity of having a husband and children badawi, 2000. This practice is very common among the animist and the muslim communities. Polygamy rates appem to be 10\\er in fast, central and southern africa than in west africa. However in the hebrew bible, the polygamy was permitted only if a man has more than one wife, at the same time if a woman had more than one husband, it was seen as adultery. D department of religious studies olabisi onabanjo university, agoiwoye ogun state, nigeria abstract. The polygamy was widely accepted during the last two thousands of years in the subsaharan africa also. At first the polygamy was very popular in the west part of africa, but as the islam has started to diffuse in this region, the prevalence of polygamy has started to continuously reduce due to the restrictions that appeared to the number of wives. First, economists since becker 1974 have linked polygamy to inequality between men. In the polygamy belt stretching from senegal to tanzania. Scholars have suggested, for example, that polygamy crowds out productive investment tertilt 2005, reduces investment in girls education edlund and lagerlof 2006 or diminishes the labour supply of unmarried men edlund and lagerlof 2012. Polygamy is very common in the animist and muslim communities of west africa. In order for such a union to be legally valid, it needs to comply with the requirements of a valid customary marriage in south africa both parties must be above the age of 18. In senegal, for example, nearly 47 per cent of marriages are said to feature multiple women. The husband in an existing customary marriage wishing to marry a second wife must apply to a competent court for such a marriage to be legal.
Polygamy may offer shortterm benefits to women in societies where women have generally low. Jan 06, 2010 polygamy is very common in the animist and muslim communities of west africa. Sub saharan africa has one of the fastest annual population. Genderbased violence, particularly sexual violence, is a. Joseph smith, founder of the mormon church, approved polygamy in the 1840s.
This very old practice is essentially recognised under customary law andor. Even for women, polygamy in ancient times was not always disadvantageous. These include the protocol to the african charter on human and peoples rights on the rights of women in africa. Inequalities of right and dignity that seal a union in which one is at the mercy of the other on an affective, economic, and family level. Womens narratives of living in polygamous marriages. For example, 33% of women in nigeria reported that their husbands have more than one wife demographic and health survey, 20. Polygamy already is a common fixture among many cultures in. Polygamy remains common and mostly legal in west africa polygamy has declined in the last decade but remains common in west africa.
First, the atlantic slave trade removed more men than women from the affected areas of the continent. Musa mseleku, a husband to four wives and father of 10, who has written a book on polygamy hopes he will change the many misconceptions of the ageold practice. Feminism in africa in this first part we will look at womens activism in africa. Lastly, womens activists may take quite varying stances towards sexuality. Indeed, supporting polygamy is a sensible thing to do because men already like having many partners, it enhances personal freedom, helps to prevent or minimize adultery, is an integral part of some culture, was practiced by great men of christianity and islam and other religions, helps to decrease the number of single women in society, helps. Polygamy has been cited as a possible contributor to africa s low savings rates tertilt, 2005, widespread incidence of hiv brahmbhatt et al.
It could be really difficult to outrightly, or even condemn polygamy at all. First wives, in principle, enjoy social respect, agency as house. With the sanction of the bishop of sierra leone they resolved that, while the wives of a polygamist, if believed to be true converts, might. Is hivaids epidemic outcome of poverty in subsaharan africa. Even though polygamy is a part of its traditions, there is a new reality that raises questions about whether this lifestyle has a place in modern south africa. The cedaw committees general recommendation 29 reaffirms the goal of abolishing polygamy and makes clear that, with regard to women in existing polygamous marriages, states parties should take the necessary measures to ensure the protection of their economic rights. As opposed to polygyny one man with multiple wives, some. Previously the history of women s political organization, their struggle for freedom from oppression, for community rights and, importantly, for gender equality, was largely ignored in history texts. Its no secret that there is a disproportionate number of black men in prison in the west. Impact of a polygamous marriage on children and family the. In those regions in eastern africa a ected by the indian ocean slave trades, polygyny remained uncommon. Where polygamy exists, violence against women perpetrated by a husband, as well as violence between cowives, tends to be high. Towards a plural perspective on kwena womens rights in cowan jk, dembour m, and william ra eds culture and rights. Overall the polygamy in africa is a very common practice that you are going to find all over africa, but it tends to be more popular especially in the west african countries.
As new wives joined a compound, older ones could focus on their trading. In botswana, women have an interesting twist on the old saying a woman s work is never done. This can be seen, for instance, in the fact that the taking of a second wife is so often the simple consequence of the barrenness of the first. Polygamy is illegal in ghana, but the restrictions are not heavily enforced. Strategy for gender based violence prevention, mitigation and. We begin by describing key features of african polygyny. Oct 16, 2007 this entry was posted on october 16, 2007 at 3. The federation of women lawyers, a powerful womens rights group, applauded aspects of the bill and criticized others. There is always the conditionan inescapable onethat whatever the society, the women should outnumber the men. Polygamy increased where there was a scarcity of males in the population first reason. Fourth, modern female education does not reduce polygamy. Muthengi polygamy and the church in africa 59 second, polygamy is mot1vated by desire to secure all1ance w1th good families in this case, marriage from the african context is viewed as involving families and communities rather than individuals hillman 1975.
Proponents of the social school explained that at the time polygyny was established as the legal form of marriage, the ratio of women to men in africa was about 10 to 1. To say that its their choice is a real denial of gender inequalities. Women notes that polygamy is one of a range of marriage practices discriminatory toward women. Polygynous marriage and child health in subsaharan africa. The research has found that many men in both lower and. Marriage in contemporary sub saharan africa is substantially marked by the movement from polygamous marriages to monogamous marriage. Later in the year he crossed the border and entered the ivory coast where he continued his crusades.
Polygamy and poverty are both widespread in africa. Combine that with an oppressive system of welfare and imbalances in the earning power of black women and you have a. When a man is married to more than one wife at a time, sociologists call this polygyny. Gaffneyrhys r polygamy and the rights of women 2011 women and society 115 griffiths gendering culture griffiths a gendering culture. In 19 after his first missionary outing to the city of monrovia, he traveled eastward down the coast he took two women with him as missionary assistants. It is only over the last three or four decades that women s role in the history of south africa has, belatedly, been given some recognition. Polygamy has declined in the last decade but remains common in west africa. This very old practice is essentially recognised under customary law andor religious practices. An exploratory study of south african women s experiences of. The couple started a small commercial agriculture business almost two decades ago. I begin with a simple model that motivates the hypotheses that i test. I am of the strong opinion that the dilemma of the african christian on polygamy could be resolved in this last two quotations.