Some AICs opted not to resist polygamy, believing that "official polygamy"3 was not a great problem, but that "unofficial polygamy"4 was. In contemporary society, any man who marries a second wife because of such problems needs to remember that, in doing so, he may well be exposing himself and the whole family to the HI virus -aside from the fact that marrying a second wife for such reasons is obviously unfair to his first wife. Chapt 2. 2007, Women, Presbyterianism and patriarchy.Religious experience of Chewa women in central Malawi. 2008. According to Gaskiyane (2000:97), the concept is defined as a culturally determined, socially acceptable and legally recognised form of permanent marriage where a man has more than one wife at a time. Soc Sci Med.

This is precisely why Baloyi (2010:12) recommends that, before a man marries a second wife for reasons of infertility, both he and the first wife undergo medical tests to ascertain which of the two is infertile. 2006.

Chapter Faith is the responsibility of an individual, but church is the responsibility of people, and faith manifests itself in the church. [Links], Maillu, DG. Last visited on 2012-07-20. Infidelity in heterosexual couples: demographic, interpersonal, and personality-related predictors of extradyadic sex. While various religious communities and Christian churches have been debating the permissibility of granting church membership to male polygamists, other groups have argued about whether or not polygamy is a cultural mandate in South Africa. Okorie (1995:3) expresses a similar sentiment, suggesting that polygamy results in less temptation for a man to commit adultery. Missionalia. This view is echoed by Yamani (2008), who reports: "A wife's infertility is a valid reason for her husband to polygamously seek another." Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. Kathide (2007:41) shares this sentiment, making the observation that aside from the problems of rearing and disciplining children and quarrels amongst the wives, the harsh economic reality of modern times is sufficient to discourage polygamy, since providing a house for one wife as well as giving one child a decent education is already a great responsibility. This emphasises that sexual relations, for African women, were aimed mainly at procreation, which was why, once a woman reached menopause, there was no need for her to continue to engage in sexual intercourse. Among the things that a critical evaluation of polygamy helps us to see is that not only does it encourage the treatment of women as inferior beings, but it also foments rivalry between wives and forces many women to share already scarce resources with co-wives and their children. The retrospective data presented in the current study revealed evidence of low levels of education, marriage to older male partners, and involvement in multiple sexual partnerships among women in polygamous marriages. Fulfilment of the desire for a male heir. According to Wunderink (2009), polygamy has long been a challenge for Christians in countries with predominantly Muslim populations and many parts of Africa. This will not only reduce the tendency to automatically blame the woman, but will also enable the medical profession to help the couple before a third party is involved. Of 1437 women who responded to the question on polygamy, 8.3% reported being in a polygamous marriage. Monogamy reconsidered.Nairobi: AMECEA Gaba Publications. While death continues to demolish life, marriage and childbearing keep ahead of it all the time." 1974. According to Gaskiyane (2000:10), there is plenty of evidence to show that "no woman really wants to share the affection and love of her husband with another woman". Social science research network (http://papers.ssrn.com). For example, the practise of polygamy is predominant among the Shangaan, Swati and Zulu tribes in South Africa [12, 13], which are found in these provinces. (http://articles.cnn.com). Of course, oppression is encountered in some monogamous marriages, but that is another subject altogether. Google Scholar. 1997;3:293327. In the past, sonless marriage always stood on shaky grounds. Baschieri A, Cleland J, Floyd S, Dube A, Msona A, Molesworth A, Glynn JR, French N. Reproductive preferences and contraceptive use: a comparison of monogamous and polygamous couples in northern Malawi. Int Soc Work. As Njoroge (1997) so rightly states, the unlearning of internalised sexist practices, attitudes and beliefs and patterns is one of the greatest challenges facing women. I do not, in this article, intend to participate in such arguments; instead, I wish to reveal the oppressive nature of the practice in its treatment of women. Thobejane TD. [Links], Phiri, IA. Therefore polygamy or anonymous polygamy is a lie and an intellectual dishonesty. One thousand EAs were selected for inclusion in the study from a database of 86,000 EAs, yielding a total sample size of 15,000 households or VPs. It has been suggested that women in polygamous relationship often have clandestine affairs with other men [13]. In many African cultures it is the norm for an adult to be married and to have children. Gaskiyane (2000:15) elucidates: "In traditional cultures the greatest desire and requirement is to have children, especially male children, to be heirs of property." 1995. [Links], Kofon, NE. Moreover, the bill of rights by extension also entrenches the rights of children born of a polygamous marriage to education, which could increase the economic burden on the polygamist. 1989. The aim of this study was to profile socio-demographic and behavioural characteristics associated with women in polygamous relationship using the 2002 national survey data. Bresnihan S. Understanding womens lives in polygamous marriages: exploring community perspective in DRC. Unpublished paper delivered at the meeting of the Reformed minister's think tank: Iyani Bible School (Venda). To my mind, the important question is whether or not polygamy encourages the abusive treatment of women. Stock and crop farming were the common means of survival, and both require strength and labour. Al-Krenawi A, Kanat-Maymon Y. KRS Hope.

The meaning of polygamy and its historical roots. It is the sixth marriage overall for the polygamous president. Denis and Ntsimane (2006) report on the current phenomenon of women who choose not to be married, but nevertheless have children, but for the purpose of this article I wished to draw attention specifically to the negative connotations of being unmarried and how this is exploited as a reason for polygamy. 2 ME Baloyi teaches Practical Theology in the Department of Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology at the University of South Africa.

It is claimed that the husband and the first wife often reach agreement concerning the husband's marrying a second wife. In almost all African societies, polygamy is an acceptable and valid form of marriage - in fact, monogamy has been associated with people of lower social status. Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education. BMC Women's Health Yet others, such as some of the African Independent Churches, accommodate polygamists and allow them full and active participation in the life of the church. New York: Springer; 2009. p. 1325. The authors declare that they have no competing interests. BMC Women's Health 18, 133 (2018). The aim of this study was to profile socio-demographic and behavioural characteristics associated with women in polygamous relationships in South Africa using the 2002 survey data. According to Masenya (2005:188), Sotho sayings such as Monna ke tshwene, oja ka matsogo a mabedi(literally meaning "a man is a baboon, he eats with both hands", in other words, a man may have more than one wife) not only reinforce the subjugation of women, but also make women vulnerable to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Such marriages seldom last since they will lack commitment which is needed for every marriage to survive. This analysis profiled factors associated with self-reported polygamy among women using data from the 2002 nationally representative household survey. His refusal, of course, suggests that he had every intention of choosing to believe that there was nothing wrong with him and that he was entitled to continue to blame his wife for their childless state. For some it is an embodiment of Old Testament practices, and therefore has no place in modern society, while others regard it as a pagan practice. Why does God allow our husbands to hurt us? Mbiti (1969:105) conveys the importance of childbearing in African marriages, stating: "Marriage and childbearing are the medicines against death. 2004;21:21730. The belief that every woman must have a husband and every man a wife has created a situation where a woman would prefer to be one of several wives rather than be without a husband, as the latter situation would make her a social outcast (Gaskiyane 2000:17). 2008. For him it is generally felt that when white people came to Africa, they and the church combined in their endeavours to abolish polygamy. Grace, tenacity and eloquence: struggle for Womens rights in South Africa. Age-appropriate individual questionnaires including parent/guardian for minors were administered to consenting eligible individuals to solicit information that included demographic characteristics, media and communication on HIV, sexual behaviours and practices related to HIV, and marriage practices such as polygamy where applicable. CAS Okorie (1995:3) cites a widely African belief that levirate marriage constitutes a means of taking care of widows. In any event, Christian marital vows include the promise of support in health and in sickness, which cannot simply be ignored in difficult times.

It is important to ensure that from their leaders, including political leaders, the younger generation, and indeed society at large, should learn responsibility and accountability in matters related to marriage. The mother of girls is often blamed by her husband and his parents for not producing sons. Shahzad (2009) states that polygamy is as old as human society, and cites David and Solomon as just two among many examples. A more recent example involves the South African president, Jacob Zuma, who in 2012 married his fourth wife. Following a medical examination that confirmed that there was nothing wrong with her, the doctor suggested that her husband should also come for a medical examination; the husband refused to do this. A woman with married daughters and sons was regarded as somebody who had finished her sexual role in marriage. Gold (2007:1) cites the example of an African pastor who taught his church under the title: "Polygamy as a pre-requisite for church membership." Begetting children is a duty to be fulfilled. Nevertheless, the Christian church needs to take a decisive stand with regard to polygamists who want to join the church. In particular, I will explore and present and argument on whether polygamy can still be regarded as acceptable in contemporary Christian communities. Single women have always been suspected of many evils, such as lack of feeling and a desire to break up other people's marriages. Although sexual relations after menopause may be regarded as taboo in some cultures and traditions that do not constitute the focus of this article, the fact that this view is cited as a reason for polygamy in some African cultures needs to be exposed. Although this may have reflected the views of many, numerous divergent arguments have been put forward by African scholars and missionaries: while Bishop Josiah Kibira of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania acknowledged the difficulties presented by polygamy and called for theological study, the Anglican church in West Africa allowed the wives of polygamists to be baptised -although the same church in South Africa and elsewhere refused to admit them even to the catechumenate without the authorisation of the bishop. In this regard Wunderink (2009:18) quotes Isabel Phiri, who argues that this is an example of where missionaries with good intentions did not have a proper solution to the issue of polygamy, and in fact promoted divorce without responsibility being taken for the children. Zomba, Malawi: Khachere Series. [Links], Fagerstom, DG. It was believed that a woman who broke this taboo would be physically punished: her stomach would grow bigger and bigger, or else the seminal fluid accumulated in her stomach would flow out through the genital orifice, creating an unpleasant odour (Kyomo and Selvan 2004:35, 36). 2007. It was as a result of this difference in outlook between the missionary churches and the AICs that the latter drew more converts (who felt ill-treated by the former). The primary outcome variable is polygamy based on the question does your husband have other wives (yes=1 and n=0). In South Africa, polygamy has a long history in some cultures, and males with both middle and low socio economic background practice contemporary polygamy [11]. Women working far from home could do likewise, and again, there would be no need for polygamy. [Links], Kimathi, G. 1994. Kimathi (1994:13) explains: Menopause among many ethnic groups brought an end to the need for sexual activities. Hayase Y, Liaw K. Factors on polygamy in sub-Saharan Africa: findings based on the demographic and health surveys. Without their participation we would never been able to undertake this first national, household survey of HIV/AIDS in 2002. Earlier Western missionaries felt the need to confront polygamy at the point of conversion. In this, I support Mbeya (1994:25), who states that any aspect of African culture which keeps women in bondage or reinforces their inferiority must be challenged. Moreover, it is a way of ensuring stability and that the widow will not become part of another family, taking the wealth of the deceased with her. 1996. By using this website, you agree to our Finally, I wish to reiterate that people should be advised to consult their doctors concerning infertility, menopause, child-rearing and other related issues before they invoke polygamy as a solution to any of these problems, and that men should be advised to take the cost of living into account before deciding to marry a second wife. Okonkwo (2003:15) states: If we seek to identify the main distinguishing feature of African customary marriage as compared with European marriage, there will no doubt be general agreement that the most obvious of such features is the toleration and even approval, accorded to polygamy. Privacy Although some church leaders initially rejected polygamous marriages in their churches, Wunderink (2009:1) reports that many African church leaders regret zero-tolerance policies applied to polygamous families of converts, saying that treating those marriages as invalid gives rise to a number of problems. Special Reports from the Eighth Assembly of the World Council of Churches, 3-14 December 1988, Harare, Zimbabwe. Not all AICs require a polygamist to dismiss all but one of his wives in order to join the church, because the African epistemology differs from the Western epistemology and recognises both monogamous and polygamous unions as indissoluble; it also articulates that divorce is not an African, but a Western concept (Kahiga 2007:131). 1998. In my view this is a form of child enslavement, with concomitant negative effects on children's education. Kahiga (2007:120) is of the opinion that while polygamy was formalised in Africa, it has taken the form of anonymous polygamy, with partners or concubines incognito in different locations. African women doing theology. 2013;45(2):14565. The missing voice. [Links], Yamani, MAZ. However, not all widows are receptive to this practice: Nkhwashu (2012) cites the example of a young widow who fled from the prospect of being forced to marry her late husband's younger brother, taking with her the compensation paid out to her by her late husband's former employer. The social history of Christian polygamy.London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. [Links], Vos, P. 2010. Fenske J. African polygamy: past and present. [Links], Phaswana, DR. 2005. Descriptive statistics (frequency distribution and percentages) were used to characterize socio-demographic and behavioural profiles of women in polygamous marriages. Proponents of polygamy have claimed that the more wives a man has, the more children he is likely to have, and the more children, the greater the chances that the family will enjoy immortality. The committee had Federal Wide Assurance (FWA) for the Protection of Human Subjects accreditation with the United States of Americas Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

[Links], Jenkins, P. 2010. The election of President Zuma, in South Africa, has raised the profile of polygamy (Wunderink 2009:17), but Isabel Phiri (a theology professor in KwaZulu-Natal) expresses concern at the fact that, traditionally, "polygamy, which was a practice of rich men with the land and money to support a large family, is now practised by middle-class and poor men" (Wunderink 2009:18). [Links], Gold, J. In writing this article, my aim has been both to reveal the abusive nature of the practice, and, as Majeed (2004:74) argues, to show how the practice is a challenge to historians, sociologists, theologians, anthropologists and other scholars. Mediterranean J Soc Sci. Christian Century. Although Okonkwo may be correct, it would be incorrect to generalise and assume every African to be a polygamist, particularly in the present day, in light of the current socio-economic situation and the criticism expressed by some Christian churches. In a traditional African context, his wife's ill health is not seen as a reason for a husband to abstain from sex. Polygamy has long been the preferred form of marriage in Africa. Acta Juridica:36-51. The traditional fear of being single is one that needs to be addressed through counselling, so that people are able to accept themselves as they are. It is not only unethical, but also extremely irresponsible to have a larger family than one can afford to support. Leclerc-Madlala S, Simbayi LC, Cloete A. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to assess the relationship between polygamy, and selected socio-demographic and behavioural factors. The target population for this study was all people living in households in South Africa excluding persons in special institutions (e.g. Kahiga argues that the cycle of divorce and remarriage in the West amounts to successive polygamy, because either partner is welcome to remarry after the divorce. 1 This article is a revised version of the paper delivered at the law conference held at the University of Limpopo, 29 August to 2 September 2011. Series F2 no. The Sotho idiom Lebitla la mosadi ke bohadi (meaning that a woman's grave lies in her marriage or her in-laws) expresses the requirement that women should remain in their marriage, even if that marriage is life-threatening (Kriel 1991:27). [Links], Modupe, AN. Christianity Today,July: 17-18. Current socialisation as well as a culture of respect for human rights and the acknowledgement of gender equality should combine to topple polygamy as custom and tradition. Explanatory variables included socio-demographic variables such as age (15 to 24years=1, 25 to 49years=2, 50+ years=3), race (Black African=1 and other races=2 i.e. [Links]. All these are attributed to gender-power differences in such relationships [7,8,9]. Moreover, there is no medical evidence to support the notion that sexual relations after menopause are a danger to health - this is nothing more than a myth perpetrated by certain African traditions. Polygamy - a socio-religious conundrum.(https://groups.google.com/forumgroups). 25 July: 1-2. Kimathi (1994:23) reports on a case study involving a woman who was unable to conceive. Psychological symptomatology, self-esteem and life satisfactions of women from polygamous and monogamous marriages in Syria. Correspondence to I fully support Kahiga (2007:121), who expresses the view that although it cannot be ignored, the practice of polygamy no longer has a place. African Ecclesial Review, 49(1 &2), March-June 2007: 119-147. All people in all the selected households were initially listed, and eligible individuals randomly selected to each represent age groups 214years, 1524years, 25years and older. As Chapman (1986:28) points out: Sharing is not for every woman, but every woman needs to open her eyes so that she can recognize when she is sharing her man with someone else. Although some African cultures are changing their stance under Western influence, others continue to treat unmarried women as outcasts. 1992. Polygamy may have negative effects and influences on womens reproductive health [7,8,9]. The survey data were collected using a multi-stage stratified cluster randomised sampling design. The analysis may have also been affected by non-response and / or missing data. Google Scholar. Polygyny in pre-Christian Bafut and new moral theological perspectives.Frankfurt: Peter Lang.

African women theologians:a contextual study of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians. The intention of this article is to investigate the way in which African people have conceptualised polygamy, and how the Christian church has dealt with it. Kimathi (1994:12) and Gaskiyane (2000:10) report that some African people invoke polygamy to prevent a possible divorce, particularly in cases where childlessness or barrenness was anticipated. He can be contacted at baloye@unisa.ac.za. If his wife was ill for a long period, the husband's family would encourage him to think of a second marriage, reasoning that this would give the first wife time to recover. Philos Trans R Soc Lond Ser B Biol Sci. A number of cultures practise polygamy for the same reasons. While some churches are reluctant to allow women or the wives of polygamists to occupy prominent positions within the church, others are reluctant to permit a polygamist to occupy a church leadership role. LCS conceived the study and drafted the manuscript; MLHM performed the statistical analysis, interpretation of data and drafted the manuscript. 2004. Jenkins's (2010) observation gives us some insight into the AICs as churches that accommodated polygamists as full members. The dataset used in the analysis is in the public domain, and can be accessed through the Human Sciences Research Council data research repository via access dataset http://curation.hsrc.ac.za/doi-10.14749-1400830395. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.

Crosscurrent, Summer: 73-81. In Linda Richter and Robert Morrell (eds), Baba: men and fatherhood in South Africa.Cape Town: HSRC Press. In Tokunboh Adeyemo(ed), Africa Bible commentary. The Bible, HIV/AIDS and African-South African women: a bosadi (womanhood) perspective. [Links], Kriel, JD. African widowhood practices: the Igbo mourning experience. Nairobi: Fahamu-Networks for Social Justice; 2007. p. 769. 1994. Baloyi EM. Acta Juridica:135-146. Generally, this confirms observed patterns in most African communities where girls became brides shortly after puberty, while men get married at a more advanced age [16]. Proportion of women in polygamous marriages in the Western Cape (WC), Eastern Cape (EC), Northern Cape (NC), Free State (FS), KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), North West (NW), Gauteng (GT), Mpumalanga (MP) and Limpopo (LP) Provinces of South Africa.

1999. Above these arguments, Reynolds (2008:123) points out that there are many reminders to unmarried women that they are not living a 'normal' lifestyle. 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]. Polygamy: A pastoral challenge to the church in Africa. It was often a cause for polygamy. Out of a total of 13,518 individuals who were selected and contacted for the survey, 9963 (73.7%) people agreed to be interviewed. Absent fathers: why do men not feature in stories of families affected by HIV/AIDS in KwaZulu-Natal?

The paradox of polygamy.Notes from the Global Church. De Bruyn (1988) reports that Densen Mafinyani took a stance on behalf of the Zimbabwean Council of Churches (ZCC) against the World Council of Churches (WCC), recommending that the latter should accept as members those churches which tolerate polygamy, because in the African context polygamy is neither wrong nor evil. There is no reason to force a woman into a polygamous marriage to prevent her becoming a social outcast: just as marriage is all about commitment, singleness is also a legitimate choice (Baloyi 2010:11). Kyomo and Selvan make the same point: "One reason for polygamy seems to be the old taboo of menopause. [Links], Okorie, AM. Kofon (1992:56) summarises this reasoning as follows: "Polygamy is supported in Africa for the reason of sexual gratification when one wife is ill or is delivered.". 2004;50(Suppl 1):84114. Single status in African cultures has a number of negative associations - one being witchcraft (Phaswana 2005:1). Phiri (2006:6) suggests that polygamous and levirate marriages can be traced to the fact that the biblical stories were told, written and interpreted in a male-dominated society. Making reproductive health rights a reality. The Sociocultural Aspects of HIV/AIDS in South Africa. (www.theoledafrica.org) Last visited on 01-08-2012. Lit Net,18 June. Your marriage and family.Wetenskaplike bydraes. Socio-demographic and behavioural profile of women in polygamous relationships in South Africa: a retrospective analysis of the 2002 population-based household survey data. [Links], Burman, S. 1991. In the final multivariate model (Table4) women in polygamous marriages were significantly less likely to have tertiary education [OR=0.03(95% CI:0.000.28), p=0.003], to have money for food and clothes [OR=0.12 (95% CI: 0.060.27), p<0.001], to have sexual partner who was five years younger [OR=0.10 (95% CI: 0.010.94), p=0.044], and sexual partner within 5years older or younger than their age [OR=0.35 (95CI: 0.130.91), p=0.032]. It is not surprising, therefore, that an older woman would tell her husband that it was time he got himself a new wife as an indication that she was ready for exemption from her sexual obligations. Written informed consent was obtained from all study participants. Gaskiyane (2000:23) reports: A few groups within nominal Christendom believe that the bearing of a very large number of physical children brings eternal blessing and that such families continue together forever in Heaven. We would like to that all South African who participated in this study.