by Mouhcine Azizoun

Created on: July 29, 2009   Last Updated: January 08, 2011

Polygamy is the practice of having more than one spouse. There are three forms of polygamy. First, polygyny which refers to the case in which one man has more than one wife. Second, polyandry which refers to the case in which one woman has more than one husband. Third, group marriage which refers to the case in which husbands have many wives and these wives have many husbands. The third form is a combination of the first and the second forms of polygamy.

To the best of my belief, polygyny should be legalized. This does not mean that men should marry more than one wife. Nobody could deny the fact that polygamy is a solution to some social ills.

Let us not think of polygamy as a solution but as a choice. There are women that accept to share a husband with other women. This may sound fatuous. You may ask yourself: are there women who really want to share the husband?

As a straight male, I ask the same question about homosexuals: is there a man who wants to marry another man? And yes, there are many same as there are many women that want to share a husband because they believe that sharing one is much better than having no one.  Therefore, just as we give homosexuals the right to marry, we should give women who want to share the husband the right to do that.

One does not need to be a rocket scientist to understand that because it is just logical. You may think that since it is logical to legalize polygyny, we should also legalize polyandry and group marriage. No, we should not do that for one good reason.  What would be the answer of a woman living in a polyandrous house when her kid asked her: "who is my father?" Obviously, she would have no answer to such a question. Growing up not knowing who your father is will certainly turn your life into a nightmare.

One may argue that with the readily-available technologies, one can know his father with a simple DNA test. Taking a DNA test is not as simple as one may think. It is unaffordable for many people. Therefore, polyandry and group marriage have a bad effect on the society compared with polygyny which, relatively speaking, has a positive effect on it.

For the foregoing reasons, polygyny should be legalized. It is above all a choice that must be respected, and a powerful antidote to the social ills of today's world.

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