In some cases, it is considered a status symbol, where the more wives you have, the higher your status. Some countries where polygamy is legal are not signatories to the ICCPR, including Qatar, Oman, Malaysia, Brunei, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan and the United Arab Emirates; so that the ICCPR does not apply to these countries. [152] The Department of Justice Canada has argued that polygamy is a violation of international human rights law. [153] 2. Algeria: Polygamy is allowed in Algeria, and a man can have up to four wives. However, recent amendments to the Algerian Family Code have made such marriages more difficult. As a result, polygamy was relatively rare. Polygamy is currently practised by only 3% of the population. However, this practice is decreasing due to economic and social conditions.
Here are five countries where polygamy is legal. According to a Politico article, legalizing polygamy is the “most natural next step” in countries where it is currently banned. Polygamy is legal in Algeria, where a man can take up to four wives. But recent amendments to Algeria`s Family Code have made it difficult to conclude such marriages. Therefore, the occurrence of polygamy was rare. Currently, however, only 3% of the population practices polygamy. Polygamy is illegal and criminalized in all countries in North and South America, including all 50 U.S. states.
However, in February 2020, the Utah House of Representatives and Senate reduced the sentence for consensual polygamy, which was previously classified as a felony, to about one misdemeanor. The most famous example is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormons, which was known for its practice of polygamy in the 1800s. However, this has stopped in mainstream modern Mormon society, and only a few fundamentalist offshoots still practice it. 4. United Arab Emirates (UAE): According to UAE legislation, polygamy is legal in the UAE, but only for men of the Islamic faith. A man can only have four wives if he can treat them all equally and take care of them. Under UAE law, polygamy is legal in the UAE, but limited to men of the Islamic faith. A man can take four wives only if he can ensure equal treatment and maintenance for all women. In Christianity, the laws are generally considered much clearer, polygamy being considered forbidden by almost all Christian streams, based on interpretations of Jesus` words in the New Testament of the Bible. Different religions have their own views on the practice of polygamy. For example, some indigenous groups around the world, such as the aforementioned Zulus in Africa, have a long tradition of polygamy. But while this ban was widely adopted by Ashkenazi Jews, it was not adopted by Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews who practiced it for many years.
At the time many Jews immigrated to Israel from Muslim countries, some were in polygamous marriages – which is legal in Israel, since the marriage already existed before he made aliyah. 5. Cameroon: For Cameron`s men, polygamy symbolizes wealth and status. It is mainly used in rural areas. Unlike other countries, men in Cameroon have no limit on the number of spouses they can have. On the other hand, polygamy is declining due to economic and social factors. Israel explicitly prohibits polygamy, and the country`s marriage laws are backed by religious rules. However, there are still two circumstances in which polygamy is possible in Israel. A 2019 Pew Research Center report on life forms in 130 countries and territories analyzed the number of people living in polygamous households as well as other household types. Here are some of the key findings of this report and a separate study of customs and laws around the world.
Hinduism explicitly allows polygamy, although it is rare and traditionally practiced only by people of lower castes when the woman was infertile. Polyandry was also present in the Hindu tradition, as in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Polygamy is the term used to describe a marriage between three or more people. Polygamy contrasts with monogamy, which is a marriage between only two people. While monogamy is the standard approach to marriage in Europe and America, polygamy is common in much of Africa and the Middle East, and is also observed in parts of Southeast Asia. Ultimately, however, according to Pew Research in 2020, “only about 2% of the world`s population lives in polygamous households.” However, due to economic and social constraints, this tradition is fading. Polygamy is allowed in many countries around the world. Here are ten of those countries. In some African countries, polygamy is illegal under civil law, but still permitted under common law, where actions traditionally accepted by a particular culture are considered legal. This arguably confusing loophole leads to two types of marriages: “civil” marriages and “habitual” or “religious” marriages, and allows countries like Liberia, Malawi, and Sierra Leone to allow and even support polygamous marriages without formally recognizing them.
The International Christian Polygamy Society needs donations to travel to countries like Chad to preach the true gospel to all, including Muslims. Adultery is and has never been part of polygamy. In countries that prohibit polygamy, the crime is commonly referred to as bigamy, although the penalty varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In some countries where polygamy is illegal, the ban is not enforced. Polygamy is particularly prevalent in Africa, as it is rooted in both traditional culture and Islam. The countries with the highest polygamy are all located on the African continent, particularly Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and The Gambia. Utah is home to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, which abandoned polygamy in 1890 when Utah sought to become a state. However, some apostate sects and groups follow the primitive theological doctrine of plural marriage, which is believed to bring exaltation to heaven. In fact, some Bedouins in Israel have even been convicted of polygamy. It shows that polygamy is allowed in countries mainly in Africa and Asia, including Algeria, Mali, Niger, Saudi Arabia and Iran.
The UN Human Rights Committee has also long called on all countries to abolish the practice altogether. Indeed, according to the UN, polygamy infringes on the freedom of women to marry whomever they want with their free and full consent. Group marriage is an umbrella term for marriages involving multiple husbands as well as multiple wives. Polyamory is the practice of having multiple romantic relationships, with all parties having complete knowledge and giving full consent. Not related to marriage. Polygeny is the (outdated) theory that the different races of humanity evolved from different ancestral groups. This term has nothing to do with polygamy, but is sometimes confused with “polygyny”, so it is included here for clarity. Only about 2% of the world`s population lives in polygamous households, and in the vast majority of countries this proportion is less than 0.5%. Polygamy is banned in much of the world, and the UN Human Rights Committee, which has declared that “polygamy violates the dignity of women,” has called for it to be “definitively abolished wherever it still exists.” But there are often limits to the public administration of marriages. In many countries, marriages are governed by religious or customary law, meaning that supervision is in the hands of clerics or community leaders.
However, Conor Freidersdorf argues in The Atlantic that legalizing polygamy can supposedly lead to higher levels of rape, kidnapping, murder, robbery, and assault. Other places, such as Egypt and Tunisia, where polygamy has been encouraged in recent years to reduce the number of single women.