Should ‘Polygamous’ marriages be abolished?

[Tallrays]

In Kenya, marriage hitherto viewed as an achievement, or a form of social graduation, is currently changing into a necessity catapulted by hard economic times and changing lifestyles, especially in cities.

Having a wife and a concubine or a mistress, is the modern type of polygamy. Although many of these mistresses, or ‘other wives’ come to light when a man dies; they all perform the duties of a wife.

In the United States, citizens have the right to engage in any kind of sexual relationship, with any number of partners as long as it is consensual. Consent in this case is not well-defined (same sex individuals can also consent to be intimates). In addition, consensual can be momentary (a.k.a. booty call), or long lasting (a.k.a. cohabitation). With this kind of setup, it is possible for any person, American or not, to legally sire several children outside marriage with different partners.

Whereas many religious practices around the world die hard, the choice between being a polygamist (being legally married to many women), bigamist (criminal offence of marrying one person while still legally married to another), or polyandrous (being married to more than one husband at a time), is very flexible. One does not need to rely on his or her family ethics to make that choice.

FULL STORY LINK: Should Polygamous marriages be abolished? | East Africa in Focus