Legal polygamy 12. Legal status of polygamous marriages in countries around the world. "In Yellow Hot Africa"

Polygamy and polyandry - fiction, cultural custom, folk drama or great love?.. In fact, in some countries throughout history, similar forms of relationships existed or exist.

Critics believe that the Western practice of frequent divorce and marriage remarriages is also a form of serial polygyny, although most psychologists consider it serial monogamy, where people marry more than once.

Polyandry

Unlike polygamy - male polygamy, polyandry or polyandry is quite rare, but the cultural traditions of some communities will allow women to have several husbands. For example, among the peoples of Nepal.

Polyandry is a form of polygamy in which one woman has several husbands, and can also marry all her brothers or her husband's brothers. All these men have equal rights in sexual access to their wives, and the whole family takes care of their common children, regardless of the specific biological father child.
From the point of view of the society itself, in which female polygamy exists, such a marriage concentrates the wealth and resources of all husbands and their relatives at the same time, the land and property of their parents.

Polygamy

From a social point of view, polygamy or male polygamy is a sign of wealth for men, as it requires a lot of money to support a large number of wives and children.

From a biological point of view, a polygamous man is a male who seeks to pass on his genes to as many generations as possible. A man can be the potential father of many children in a short period of time, while a woman's freedom of sexual behavior is limited to periods of pregnancy.

Polygamy is a sign of self-sufficiency and an advantage in some social groups where rapid and frequent reproduction is vital to survival.
Early Jewish doctrine proposed polygamy because the Jews were in the minority and needed to increase their numbers. Some Jewish sects still promote polygamy today, and some scholars believe that there are passages in the Talmud that demonstrate tolerance or even encouragement of polygamy.

Islamic traditions are directly related to polygamy. The Quran says that a man can have up to 4 wives, but only if he can support them and treat them equally. Many Islamic societies allow polygamy, but generally only the wealthiest people can afford multiple wives. Western influence has caused many young Muslims to reconsider their views on polygamy as an old-fashioned phenomenon.

In Vietnam, polygamy is not legal, but the practice still exists due to the war, which reduced the male population. Polygamy was common in China before Confucianism, and then fell out of favor.
Many African and Native American tribes of the pre-Christian era also practiced polygamy.

The difference between polygamy and other concepts

Polygamy is often confused with swinging, polyamory and bigamy. Bigamy occurs when one man marries more than one woman illegally. He could have married a second woman if he had filed a divorce from the first in time. In rare cases, men led double lives, because marrying two women means supporting two families, without one wife knowing about the existence of the other.
Bigamy is punishable by law, unlike the concept of polygamy and polygamy in a country where laws do not prohibit having two or more wives.

Polyamory is a whole worldview that allows for the possibility of multiple love relationships. This is the concept of being in love with more than one person.
Polyamory does not necessarily practice polygamy. Conditions may be created for cohabitation, in which several adults form one family, share in it the economic burden, childcare responsibilities and the opportunity to exchange sexual partners. However, none of them is trying to tie themselves into legal marriage. The differences between polyamorous families and polygamous families are obvious. Although there are exceptions.
In general, polygamists come to their decision due to conservative views and religious traditions, while polyamorous people come to their decision due to personal and philosophical beliefs.

Swingers also have nothing to do with polygamy, that is, polygamy. Openly have sex with people other than your spouse; perhaps this is a sign of special trust relationships, but usually does not form stable family ties. Swingers are not part of the family: the emphasis is only on sex.

Religious doctrines of polygamy

The term "polygamy" is closely associated with the Mormon religion, founded by Joseph Smith Jr. in 1800. Smith claimed to have received messages from an angel who told of ancient people who came to North America from Israel. Smith allegedly discovered the sacred gold records in New York and translated them. This scripture is known as the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon itself does not contain specific information about polygamy. However, Smith began to practice polygamy in 1830. and secretly formed a community in which a man must take several wives to become king in heaven. He pointed to the Old Testament and figures such as Solomon and Jacob as examples.
According to historians, Joseph Smith Jr. had about 48 "wives."

Although his polygamy became known and persecuted, Smith did not publicly acknowledge the practice or lay claim to official church doctrine. The practice of polygamy became widespread due to Smith's successor, Brigham Young. The main branch of Mormons, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, encouraged polygamy until 1852, when the church split.

Church members who continued to practice polygamy were excommunicated. These changes led to another split, with several small groups of Mormons forming to form their own sects where they could continue the practice of polygamy. These groups sometimes called themselves fundamentalist Mormons.

Are there really no benefits to polygamy? One can view polygamy as a built-in deterrent to infidelity on the part of the husband, since he has so many wives that there will be no need to deviate from the usual course... But what about jealousy between wives? After all, it is very difficult for one man to pay enough attention to each wife. It turns out that creating a “night schedule” - the only way at least somehow resolve the issue. At the same time, wives should, as a rule, have different rooms and even separate houses, so as not to meet again and not incite conflict.

The economics of polygamy can also be very difficult. The strict enclave of a polygamist is not immune to poverty, because the more wives, the more children are born... It is possible that a man will simply not be able to earn enough money to support his entire family. In the end it all depends on social security. After all, children must not only be fed, but also clothed, taught and, unfortunately, treated. Such “communities” will become a heavy burden for the state if they declare their rights, and of course, for the rest of the monogamous society.

In some areas of America (Utah) men could have polygamous status. However, a number federal laws, adopted in 1800 made polygamy illegal throughout the United States, including Utah. When Utah became a state, lawmakers spelled out a specific ban on polygamy in the state constitution.

Is a modern man ready to have more than one wife?

So what is all the fuss about? - the Russian will ask, - Let them live as they want, but we have a traditional monogamous family, our pride.
In 2000, the unpredictable politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky proposed to hit demographics with polygamy, allegedly because there was a catastrophic shortage of men in Russia.

However, thousands of Russian men live with several women, have children and do not try to enter into legal marriage. As a result, there are a lot of children without fathers, the care of which is usually placed on the shoulders of women. Another part of men, having filed a divorce from their wives, continue to live and sleep with them.
It is impossible to be held accountable for such a lifestyle, but, for example, for bigamy you can. The modern social system is not ready to control the negative aspects of the personal lives of citizens, to be sure, because there are many other, more important, but still unresolved problems, such as child abuse or domestic violence.

Currently, from a moral point of view, there is no difference between civil and official marriage. There is only a legal aspect. Laws against cohabitation would be unconstitutional in any case. Persecution on the basis of polygamy is impossible, just as it is almost impossible to find statistics on “polygamy”, because a huge number of love unions are not official.

The similarity of civil and official relations gave rise to this confusion regarding polygamy. Polygamy is a legal polygamy, in which the wives know about each other’s existence, maintain family relationships, can raise children together and have no claims against each other.

It should also be noted that in Russia illegal polygamy exists, but it is very hidden in order to avoid traditional condemnation from others and payment of alimony to the family where the man no longer intends to return.

More open polygamy is the privilege of “noble” or very wealthy men. But often the structure of such families creates damage to women's independence. Husbands have absolute power if their wives and children are completely dependent on them. Indeed, women often lack the life skills to live independently.
The reason why women agree to such relationships may also be that many wives of polygamists were born and raised in polygamous families. If it weren’t for the psychological microclimate of the family from the moment of birth, they would never have known that this was a way out...

The situation is similar in Central Asia. Especially in Turkmenistan, whose authorities allowed local men to have more than one wife. Immediately I remember the immortal " White sun desert" and comrade Sukhov along with the harem of Basmach Abdullah. After all, the action of this film took place precisely in the Turkmen sands.

Contrary to Solomon

By the way, it is Muhammad who is mainly referred to, albeit in absentia, by modern Muslims and their supporters, who have adopted the fashion of having modern, comfortable harems. A couple of kings from Swaziland are considered the real record holders. But if Sobhuza II was the husband of 70 Africans at once, then his successor Mswati III had “only” 13 spouses. However, all current and past monarchs were far ahead of a simple 84-year-old Nigerian named Mohammed Bello. Even when faced with the threat of real execution, he did not want to choose only four of his 86 wives. It’s curious, but throughout almost his entire life, Bello argued that there was no need to start such a huge family, it would only cause trouble.

"In Yellow Hot Africa"

Thus, in Djibouti you cannot have more than four wives. In Algeria, a second wife can enter the family only if the first wife agrees and there is a positive solution. In Mauritania, the first lady, once per marriage, has the right to demand that the husband not take another wife. In the Congo, the first wife must immediately declare that she is against her husband’s other marriages, this is taboo. In Morocco, anyone who wants to have a second wife can do so, again with the permission of the court. The husband must also demonstrate long-term solvency and vow to love all his wives.

Sharia law

In Pakistan, a husband must obtain written consent from the first before bringing a second wife into the house. In Jordan, a man cannot have more than four wives. But when planning to enter into a second marriage, he must introduce his wives and prove his ability to support them financially. In Lebanon, where a sufficient number of people live, polygamous marriages are only possible. In Singapore, in addition to the consent of the first wife, the husband is required to obtain permission from the local administration.

In Nepal, a man receives the right to marry without divorce only in cases of force majeure that occurred with the first wife. These include blindness, insanity, venereal disease, paralysis, and ten years of infertility. Another acceptable option is the voluntary consent of the first wife, having previously received part of the property, to live separately and not file for divorce. The only Asian country that allows polygamy but does not practice Islam is Burma.

It's not possible, but it's possible!

IN Lately The topic of polygamy in Russia is being actively discussed. This type family relationships not typical for the culture and traditions of the state. But at the same time, today this issue is quite relevant for various segments of the population. Let's try to figure out what polygamy is and how many wives the Family Code of the Russian Federation allows one man to have.

Polygamy and polyandry are unusual family types for Russians

In the majority modern countries In the world, only monogamous marriages are officially recognized at the state level. We are talking about family marriage unions created at their own request by couples: “man + woman”. each spouse swears to love and respect their chosen one for the rest of their lives, as well as to remain faithful to him.

Despite the prevalence of monogamous marriages, in some states polygamous family relationships are considered traditional or at least acceptable. Such marriages are called polygynous (polygamy) and polyandrous (polyandry). Experts believe that this type of family could arise in some emergency situations. For example, after large-scale disasters, wars, or in regions where, for some other reason, there were few men of reproductive age.

It is worth noting that polygamy is not common in Russia and has never been considered the norm, despite the country’s history, which is full of various sad pages.

Legislation of the Russian Federation on marriage unions

Article 14 of the current Family Code of Russia clearly states that only persons who are not married at the time of submitting an application to the registry office can enter into marriage. It turns out that the question: “Is polygamy allowed in Russia today?” - the answer is negative. Moreover, from the point of view of morality and traditions adultery or “the riotous lifestyle” of a free person are condemnable and unacceptable phenomena.

In the legislation of the USSR there once existed an article providing for criminal punishment for persons entering into a polygamous marriage. Today, polygamy in Russia is perceived with greater tolerance, but remains legally prohibited.

Is it really a shame to have several wives in modern Russia?

Social research and the population census show interesting results. In 2002, it was found that in Russia the number married women outnumbers married men by almost 70,000. Where are the husbands of the ladies who consider themselves married? Does polygamy really exist in Russia? Many modern people They believe that the main thing is “personal relationships, not stamps from the registry office.” For this reason, it is difficult to establish how many actually existing married couples there are in the state.

As for polygamy, opponents of this claim that the problem with its popularization lies in immigrants coming from Muslim countries (where polygamous marriages are approved).

However, not all so simple. Many Russian men live for years with several families. We are talking about long-term personal relationships with mistresses without an official divorce from the wife. What is noteworthy is that in the Russian mentality such cases are not perceived as “polygamy.” Even if the unofficial “wife” has children from married man, and he admits them, society often treats this woman negatively and frivolously. Because “she’s just a mistress.” But shouldn't having a loving relationship with someone other than your legal spouse be considered a polygamous marriage?

Should we expect the adoption of a law on polygamy?

In 1999, R. Aushev issued a decree allowing polygamy in the republic. Due to the fact that the law on polygamy in Russia was not even considered at that time, Russian President Boris Yeltsin quickly canceled this permission. Since then, at the legal and legislative level this question was not considered.

What is noteworthy is that many Muslims, living in states where polygamous marriages are prohibited, still manage to enter into them. The problem is not the legislation at all. Legally, a polygamist man has only one wife in accordance with the current Family Code. He enters into a family union with his second and subsequent spouses in the church.

The same thing happens in our country. The article for polygamy in Russia could hardly significantly improve the situation due to the difficult proof of violations. Perhaps propaganda will be most effective family values and original Russian traditions?

In Kazakhstan, the topic of polygamy causes great resonance. Many people believe that having several wives is a high level of prestige. The other side takes a different view, respecting and honoring traditional marriage. Meanwhile, the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan makes no mention of allowing polygamy. We decided to find out how this tradition is treated in other countries.

World experience

There is a common misconception that polygamy appeared with Islam. In fact, polygamy among the Arabs was common long before Islam. Islam, on the contrary, introduced certain restrictions: to take no more than four wives, with the condition that wealth will allow the husband to support them. On this moment In more than 30 countries in Asia and Africa, polygamy is officially permitted. We are talking about countries such as Saudi Arabia, Monaco, Afghanistan, UAE, Kuwait, Yemen, Qatar, Bahrain, Libya, Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Oman, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Brunei, Myanmar, Zambia, Tanzania, Namibia, Malawi.

Afghanistan

Polygamy is very common in Afghanistan. In general, this idea is supported by history and traditions, which is why Afghan women themselves view this tradition quite favorably. Children from different wives are raised by the whole family, which is quite convenient. The spouse's attention is clearly divided: 2 nights for each spouse, and only the youngest is allowed to allocate 3 nights.

United Arab Emirates

The main rule for polygamy in the UAE is the husband’s ability to fully provide for each of his wives. Each of them should have its own home, the costs for each should be equal. Thanks to this system, women in the country are satisfied with their situation, and divorces are more a rarity than a rule. It is interesting that now the tradition of polygamy in the United Arab Emirates is observed less and less often: men have begun to consider polygamy not profitable from a financial point of view.

Saudi Arabia

In Saudi Arabia, in accordance with the canons of Islam, polygamy is officially permitted. The opportunity to support this tradition in this country is also associated with financial responsibility. Poor people rarely have more than one wife, while rich people usually have 3-4 spouses. Divorce is permitted at the request of the husband; the woman’s opinion is not asked. Marriages with first or second cousins ​​on the paternal side are also practiced.

Morocco

The number of polygamous marriages in Morocco is about 2%. Polygamy is mostly found in villages; in big cities, meeting such a family is a relative rarity. Interestingly, in 2003 a new Family code on permission for polygamy: in order for a man to obtain permission for a second marriage, he needs the written consent of his first wife, as well as confirmation of financial solvency.

USA

Since 1862, the United States has passed a number of laws against polygamy. However, this country is home to a large number of followers of Mormonism, a separate branch of which promotes polygamy. There is even a series of programs telling about the life of Mormons. One of them is Sister Wives - Sister Wives. This is an American reality show on TLC. The main characters of the program are the family of American Mormon Kody Brown and his four wives. There are already 17 children in their family. Brown and his wives explain their participation in the show as a desire to talk about polygamous families and get rid of prejudices. However, his participation in this show led to the fact that a pre-trial investigation was launched against him and his family.

Guinness Book of Records

The largest polygamist family is in India. We are talking about the family of Ziona Chana, who has 39 wives and 95 children. Among his wives, the most important is the eldest wife of Zatianji; the younger wives are subordinate to her. Her primary task is organization in the kitchen, because in order to feed such a family, it is necessary to set a large table every day. One family dinner requires 100 kg of rice, 30 chickens, 60 kg of potatoes.

Scientists from Saudi Arabia have found that polygamous men are four times more likely to suffer from cardiovascular diseases: families of polygamists are filled with passions and intrigues.

There is no ban

In some countries, rules regarding polygamy are not written down, or are described rather vaguely. That is, there is no official permission, but there is no mention of punishment. We are talking about countries such as Tatarstan, Turkmenistan and others. In these countries, polygamy, officially prohibited by secular laws, is permitted by Sharia, and in Tatarstan many men boldly admit that they have several wives in their family.

Polygyny, or polygamy, is often associated with the Muslim East - the veil, harem and master. In fact, the tradition of having several guardians of the family hearth was inherent in many ancient peoples and civilizations.

Polygyny still exists not only in Islamic states, but also in the aboriginal tribes of Australia, New Zealand and Africa, as well as in India. And although the civil laws of most non-Islamic countries legally prohibit polygamy, national traditions are often stronger. And while experts break spears, conduct research, weigh the pros and cons of this type of family, similar marriages are taking place in the world.

Testaments and ancient laws on polygamy

The Bible - the most authoritative book on Earth - tells us that among the Old Testament forefathers polygamy was in the order of things. Of course, the presence of several wives always had a reason, and the point is not at all that the “old” wife lost her attractiveness and freshness for her husband. First of all, the issues of procreation were at stake. Or power prestige, because the law ordered to take equal care of all chosen ones, and only wealthy people could afford several wives. However, as elsewhere, excesses were not encouraged here. According to the Bible, the great and wise King Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. And this “corrupted his heart” and forced him to turn away from the one God towards paganism.

And it is from the polygamous family of Jacob that the biblical “twelve Tribes of Israel” originate - according to the number of sons born from two wives - Rachel and Leah, and two concubines. All heirs were equally recognized by the father. It is noteworthy that Judaism in ancient times allowed polygamy mainly in “emergency cases” - when there were wars, famine and natural disasters threatened with demographic catastrophe. The so-called levirate marriage was also allowed: a brother married his brother’s widow in order to provide her and her children with a decent existence. And even the rule of the Romans in Judea did not change this article of the law: although polygamy was prohibited in the empire, an exception was made for these lands. In 1000, a thousand-year ban on polygamy was introduced for Ashkenazi Jews (those who lived in Central Europe). Despite the fact that today this period has expired, many interpreters argue that “a thousand years” should be understood as “forever.” In modern Israel, polygamy is prohibited. An exception is made only for Jews who returned to their homeland from Yemen and entered into a polygamous marriage there.

Polygamy in Europe

Most European countries inherited the concept of family norms from the Great Roman Empire, where, as already mentioned, polygamous relationships were prohibited. Concubines, mistresses, and going to a brothel, although officially condemned, were extremely popular and widespread among the ancient Romans.

And among the “barbarian peoples” polygamy was in use, especially when it came to leaders and representatives of the wealthy class. Charlemagne, Frederick Barbarossa, Pepin the Short - these famous conquerors had several wives and a harem of concubines brought from their campaigns. This allowed them to have several heirs, in whose veins the blood of the leader flowed. Strong ruler and strong man left strong offspring, which was an important factor for ancient tribes that endlessly waged wars. And even the advent of Christianity to European territories did not radically change the situation: a complete ban on polygamy would occur only in the 14th century! The reason for polygamy here was the same demographic problems that arise in conditions of constant wars. The powers needed new warriors for new victories. In addition, polygamous unions made it possible to take care of widows who could not “pull” and raise children left without a father alone. In ancient times, the fate of a single mother was unenviable, if not doomed.

So it is wrong to view polygamy only as a means of giving a man more freedom of choice in a relationship. This institution of family in almost all nations presupposed responsibility and care for women taken into the family and providing them with a decent existence.

The Slavs were no exception. Prince Vladimir was a polygamist before accepting Orthodoxy, and this is a historically proven fact. The Christian Church gradually reconsidered issues of marriage, and eventually polygamy was banned. However, theologians have repeatedly returned to the fact that the biblical forefathers had several wives and that New Testament I did not veto this type of marriage. However, scientific debates and attempts to resolve polygamy with reference to the Bible have led nowhere - the European marriage tradition to this day presupposes a union in which a man can have only one legal wife. If you haven't found your soulmate yet, take a look at the dating site www.msk.dating. There you can easily find a pleasant interlocutor or a partner for a serious relationship.

Polygamy on the other side of the ocean

Among the Indians of both Americas, as befits pagan and ancient tribes, polygamy, of course, took place. However, here the situation was not much different from the global one: if a man could provide for several wives, this was only beneficial to his tribal status. Many women - many au pairs and more heirs. If there were not enough funds or having one beloved wife was a personal choice, then no one condemned him.

The first European settlers also sometimes married more than one person, but this was more likely due to the difficult survival conditions in which they found themselves after crossing the ocean. The law that gradually came to the lands of North America, written in many ways in the image and likeness of the European one, put an end to alternative forms of marriage. The corresponding rules were adopted in 1882 and provided for criminal punishment for polygamy. Which immediately caused a scandal, because this law forced American Mormons (followers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) to abandon one of the most important tenets of their teaching. The founder of this movement, Joseph Smith, had almost three dozen wives, and his successor Brigham Young had more than fifty. Eventually, in 1890, the Mormon Church adopted a Manifesto to abolish the practice of polygamy and came to terms with harsh American laws. However, as always happens in such cases, there were those who categorically disagreed. A schism occurred, Mormons favored maintaining the custom of polygamy, moved away from the main church and continue to practice polygamy today. Of course, unofficially and illegally. But, for example, in the state of Utah - a stronghold of the Mormon church - the authorities have still not been able to get rid of this “tradition”.

• Today in Europe, the concept of “polyamory” is gaining popularity, an alternative analogue of polygamy, in which the existence of close and family relations between several people based on mutual consent, love and trust. Such people do not set out to formalize or designate their relationships in any way; they prefer to leave the “marital status” column empty.
• Polyandry, “polyandry,” was much less widespread on our planet. A family where several men had only one wife is a rare occurrence. It is found in Nepal, Tibet, South India, and also among the Aleut tribes. By the way, such a custom is not dictated by a shortage of the female population, but rather by economic reasons. This makes it possible to avoid dividing already small plots of fertile land between many sons, to produce more viable heirs, and also makes it possible to save on bride price. For example, in Tibetan families, only the eldest son is married, the rest “join in the marriage.”
• In medieval Europe there was a case of almost legal polygamy. Philip Landgrave of Hesse (1509-1567) entered into a second marriage in 1540 with the 17-year-old Countess Margaret von der Saale. His legal wife Christina of Saxony was not only alive, but also agreed to this union, unconventional for European morality. Reformer Martin Luther first blessed the Landgrave for this strange act (after all, the Bible did not prohibit polygamy), but then backed down and persuaded Philip to hide his second marriage. As a result, only his sons from his first wife were recognized as the Landgrave's heirs. In total, almost two dozen children were born in this union.
• Currently, in some countries the issue of allowing polygamy is being raised. This is especially true for those peoples for whom polygamy was a traditional form of family, but was abolished by the laws of modern times. However, the issue has not yet been resolved positively in any country.