The polygamy debate. many women are saying that one is enough
Mitton, R.
Asiaweek 1996: 24
1996
ISSN/ISBN: 1012-6244 PMID: 12291820 Document Number: 301888
In Malaysia, polygamy is permitted if a shariat court finds (as it almost always does when asked) that a polygamous marriage is just and necessary, that a man can afford multiple wives, that he will be fair and just to all the wives, and that it will not harm the existing wife. This situation has drawn the vigorous criticism of Islamic women's groups which charge that it is nearly impossible for a modern man to meet these conditions. The debate became heated when Selangor state dropped its requirement that a man obtain his existing wife's written permission before taking another wife. Because the wife's objections may be overlooked by a court, this effectively made it impossible for a woman to block such a marriage. The women charge that men protect polygamy because they are driven by lust. Some men respect the practice because it is allowed by Islam but believe that the procedure should be more stringent. Other men claim that polygamy is necessary because women outnumber men in Malaysia 14 to one (this charge was refuted by the Statistics Department which reports more men than women in the country). Public opinion is increasingly supporting monogamy. After all, if a woman took another husband, the courts would consider it justifiable homicide if her first husband murdered her. This disparity may make the practice of polygamy socially taboo.