Polygamy, from late Greek polygamia, refers to the state of marriage to many spouses. It is also known as the practice of marrying multiple spouses.
Polygamy refers to men marrying more than one wife. When a woman marries more than one man, it is called polyandry. However, today we focus on Polygamy.
“Some anthropologists believe that polygamy has been the norm through human history” (Vallely, 2010). A good historical biblical example is King Solomon, he had 700 wives (1 Kings 11:3).
Men were given the power and authority to marry as many wives as they wanted. If you pay attention, you will realise that there is a small percentage of women who are married to more than one man because according to society it is a shame when a woman is involved with two or more men.
In my opinion and observation, the driving force of polygamy is culture, also it is a norm for men with power such as leaders or Presidents, for example the former president of South Africa, Jacob Zuma. Men with power and wealth are not penalised for marrying many wives because they can afford to. In contrast to men who are regarded as average or poor.
PROS AND CONS OF POLYGAMY (Elbert Habbard)
PROS:
Polygamy has been present in history for a long time.
Humans are polygamist by nature.
Lower risk that people get bored in a marriage.
Status symbol.
Fear of losing your partner may be lower.
CONS:
Religious concerns regarding polygamy
Polygamy may lead to jealousy
Having more than one partner can be expensive
Children may get neglected.
Spread of diseases within the polygamous marriage.
Polygamy is quite popular in some countries while it is considered as rather dodgy in others. While there are some advantages to the concept of polygamy, there are also some problems related to it.
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