The Impact of Polygamy on Women's Mental Health

Polygamy is the practice or custom of having more than one wife or husband at the same time. Polyandry is a form of polygamy where a woman can marry more than one man at the same time, and polygyny is another form of polygamy where a man is allowed to have more than one wife. Polygamy is more known than polyandry. Polygamy is permitted in countries like Australia, Afghanistan, Iran, and Africa, and in other countries like the United States, England, Spain, and Mexico it is not permitted. Many view Polygamy as a sexual desire and satisfaction to be with more than just one man or woman, but for many cultural reasons, man and woman may have more than one wife or husband. As discussed in the video, the meaning of love & polygamy, the positive outcomes of having more than one wife or husband is so they can be provided each other with help.

Over seven billion people living on earth we are all diverse in our characteristics. We live in societies made up with laws and don’t have the freedom to exploit another person right. People who disobey laws and misuses another person rights are known as morally sick and selfish. They never bear the shame of their actions and always fails to understand others. While laws only ensure peace in a society, families that makes a society needs better understanding between a husband and a wife. Now with divorce rate that is growing higher by each year, Sociologists and psychologists are pointing many aspects and actions of couple that must be taken into consideration before we expect a happy life. Among them “Mark Karpel”, “Abraham Maslow” and

American family has declined drastically due to the high rates of divorce. This factor is being considered one of the biggest issues in the society. According to the current Divorce Rate-U.S.A. statistics point out that the divorce rate in the U.S.A. is the highest in the world, and

In all areas of life and society the treatment and well being of women have always been challenged. In many religions the role and status of its women are usually overwhelmed by the actions and roles of its men this inequality of religions between male and female allows these feelings and ideology of which sex is superior or inferior to bleed into a society’s culture thus shaping their treatment of their men and women.

When there is tension among the wives of one man in a polygamous society, the tension is often caused by:

In Dena Hassouneh-Phillips’ article, “Polygamy and Wife Abuse: A Qualitative Study of Muslim Women in America,” she notes a report from a second wife who felt insignificant in her polygamous marriage due to the lack of attention

Everyone wants that special someone with whom they will spend the rest of their life. That someone who will help raise a family and instill great values in their children. But what happens when that person takes more than one spouse? What if they as children with more than one partner? This practice is called polygamy and, by all standards, should be illegal.

underpins marriage in many Western and some non-Western countries.” Scholars have continued to argue the success of monogamous relationships. Harville Hendrix (1990) explains that monogamy is a healing practice. Partners in monogamous relationships go through many stages and struggles as a committed couple. Through struggle, partners act as healers that help to work through each other’s suffering (Hendrix 1990). Hendrix (1990) believes individuals choose their partners to work through the pain together and help them grow through life. Monogamous marriage is a spiritual path to happiness and commitment between two individuals (Hendrix 1990). A committed relationship requires monogamy, and Hendrix (1990) contends that healthy and spiritual commitments encourage the sustainability of monogamous relationships. Although Hendrix (1990) contends that monogamy is an effective practice, research has largely built a case around the consequences of monogamous relationships.

Ideally, the umbrella term polygamy, that encompasses polyandry, polygyny, and bigamy, is the practice or custom of having more than one wife or husband at the same time. In Canada, Section 293 of the Criminal Code prohibits polygamous relationships. However, for a considerably long time, the law banning polygamy has not been efficient and believed to be unacceptable primarily, from the Bountiful sect living in British Columbia, Canada. Bountiful consists of members of two polygamist Mormon fundamentalist groups. It is home to Canada’s well-known polygamist, Winston Blackmore, who has an estimated 148 children, along with approximately twenty-four wives.

Both of these civilizations were patriarchies, causing a suppression of women throughout ancient Athens and Egypt. According to Turner: A patriarchal relationship is one in which the male head of household dominates the members of the house whether these are male, female, adult of juvenile. This patraiarchal structure is legitimized by legal, political and religious norms which give the adult male a virtual monopoly over the subordinate groups within the traditional household. In such a system, the wife cease to be a legal personality on marriage, and divorce is typically proscribed as a system for the dissolution of marriage (Turner 1987, 84-110). This system allows men to treat women as lesser beings and when abused, promotes such treatment.

As Anthropologist Kimber McKay challenged the world’s outlook on what we believe to be a traditional, normal marriage, I was intrigued by the results of her fieldwork that displayed the different types of marriages occurring around the world. In her research in the Nepalese Himalaya, she lived within the community of polyandrous people participating in their daily life. In Humla, it was common for a polyandrous woman to marry a man and his brothers. McKay shared a video from a polyandrous woman that described the relationship she had with her two husbands. Here are her words: “If the husbands agree with it (polyandry) then it’s good. One can take care of the local work and the other can do outside work.” I hypothesize the reason polyandry

The Quran also justifies polygamy in the Muslim lifestyle. The Muslim social order was vehemently opposed to self-determination for women and declared only men could repudiate their spouses. The fear of self- determination was linked to fitna, so women had to be constrained. The family hierarchy of male domination was determined by the Prophet’s life with women and leads readers to recognize the complexity of masculine vulnerability to the attraction of women. The sexual power of women over men has dictated much of the Islamic sharia regarding marriage. Men had the right to sexual satisfaction, but women also had to be sexually satisfied so as not to commit or tempt other men to fornication.

A woman pushes as hard as she can for the last time. “It’s a baby girl!” the man announces, as the new mother hangs her head in sight of the hardships her baby, Elizabeth, will face. Miles away in a hospital, another woman gives birth to a healthy baby girl, Marley. As she sees her baby for the first time, she smiles knowing all the great adventures this baby will experience in her life. The polygamous mom takes the little girl home to her family, a family where she has more than one mother and many brothers and sisters. As she grows up she lives her life trying to be “proper” and “sweet” in the eyes of the prophet. Somewhere far away, Marley is outside playing with her mother and learning how to be a kid. At the age of fourteen, young girls like Marley are innocent and should be going on dates, having fun with friends, and living their life, but for a fourteen year old Elizabeth, she is married to a man twice her age to be his second wife. As she begins her life with her husband, she sees the jealousy of the first wife and the neglect she feels by her presence. Shortly after, the young girl is replaced by another new wife after having a child. Ever since the day she was born, she had no control over these stages happening. Her fate was determined from time of birth and is determined by men until the day she dies. Her fate will be ruled by the religion of Polygamy.

From past to present people all over the world have determined to live together, or “get married”. Marriage can be a beautiful thing, but some couples are unable to maintain their relationship, because they choose divorce as a solution to cope with the problems between husband and wife. Furthermore divorce is definitely on a rise. The effects of divorce can be detrimental to a family, but the causes of divorce can be just as bad. In this essay we will cover one of the main causes of divorce and one of the main effects.

“Made in heaven, found on earth - marriages are a new beginning according to some and the final end for others” (“Arranged Marriage”, 2009). Marriage is religiously and socially a huge responsibility and its failure could affect societies negatively. Arranged marriages are planned by families, when the bride and the groom are chosen either randomly from a wedding or by family relatives. Especially in the Gulf countries, certain families consider such marriages of high social importance. Arranged marriages in this region have a low expectancy of success. Forced marriages, short engagements and incompatibility between potential couples are the main causes of divorce in arranged marriages in the Gulf region.