Did you know that the practice of polygamy is a violation of the ICCPR according to the UNHRC, and that Burkina Faso, Mali, Gambia, Niger and Nigeria are countries estimated to have the highest polygamy prevalence in the world?

Anthropologically, polygamy is a marriage between one person and two or more spouses simultaneously. It exists in two main forms: polygyny, where one man is married to several women, and polyandry, where one woman is married to several men. Bigamy is marrying someone that is still legally married to someone else. In contrast to polygamy, monogamy is marriage consisting of only two parties. 

Worldwide, different societies variously encourage, accept or outlaw polygamy. In societies which allow or tolerate polygamy, polygyny is the accepted form in the vast majority of cases. According to the Ethnographic Atlas Codebook, of 1,231 societies noted between 1960 to 1980, 588 had frequent polygyny, 453 had occasional polygyny, 186 were monogamous, and 4 had polyandry – although more recent research found some form of polyandry in 53 communities, which is more common than previously thought. 

In cultures which practice polygamy, its prevalence among that population often correlates with social class and socioeconomic status. Polygamy (taking the form of polygyny) is most common in a region known as the "polygamy belt" in West Africa and Central Africa, with the countries estimated to have the highest polygamy prevalence in the world being Burkina Faso, Mali, Gambia, Niger and Nigeria.

In 2000, the United Nations Human Rights Committee reported that polygamy violates the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), citing concerns that the lack of "equality of treatment with regard to the right to marry" meant that polygamy, restricted to polygyny in practice, violates the dignity of women and should be outlawed. Specifically, reports to UN Committees have noted violations of ICCPR due to these inequalities, and reports to the UN General Assembly have recommended it be outlawed. ICCPR does not apply to countries that have not signed it, which includes many Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Malaysia, Brunei, Oman, and South Sudan.

Canada has taken a strong stand against polygamy, and the Canadian Department of Justice has argued that polygyny is a violation of International Human Rights Law, as a form of gender discrimination. Polygamous marriages are not recognized in the Russian Federation. The Family Code of Russia states that a marriage can only be contracted between a man and a woman, neither of whom is married to someone else. Furthermore, Russia does not recognize polygamous marriages that had been contracted in other countries.

Bigamy is illegal in the United Kingdom. De facto polygamy is not a criminal offence, provided the person does not register more than one marriage at the same time. In the UK, adultery is not a criminal offence, it is only a ground for divorce. Polygamy is illegal in all 50 states in the United States; in Utah it currently remains a controversial issue that has been subject to legislative battles throughout the years. As of 2020 Utah is the only state where the practice is designated as an infraction rather than the more serious designation as a crime.

Polygamy presents both advantages and disadvantages in various aspects of family life. The practice carries both benefits and challenges that impact individuals and families differently.

The positive impacts include providing a solution for emergency situations, addressing infertility issues, protecting widows, and fulfilling sexual needs when necessary, more adults to share the financial burden of the household, more people to share household tasks, ample availability of people for emotional support in a healthy family, co-parenting by all adults, and children usually have others their age for socialization. 

However, polygamous marriages can lead to psychological distress for wives, disrupt harmony within extended families, and potentially result in unequal treatment among spouses. Children may suffer from conflicts between co-wives and limited perspectives on alternative lifestyles, having a larger number of people to support financially, a loss of individual privacy with so many in a household, possible confusion over parental roles with the children that are not biologically the child of one of the adults, and the potential for greater interpersonal conflict and jealousy.

SOURCES: Typeset | Homework | Wikipedia

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