It is estimated that 4% to 5% of people living in the United States currently participate in polyamorous relationships, or what is also known as consensual or ethical non-monogamy, a practice in which partners have more than one sexual or romantic relationship with each other`s knowledge and consent. For comparison, non-monogamy is about as prevalent as the number of Americans who identify as LGBTQ, which is estimated at about 4.5% of the U.S. population. According to the Polyamory Legal Advocacy Coalition, this new law is “the first of what advocates hope will be a wave of legal recognition for families and polyamorous relationships in 2021.” Polygamy is widespread, with 39 per cent of women living in unions. This is sanctioned by law, which automatically allows polygamy unless the spouses indicate that it is unacceptable at the time of marriage. Given that many of us have argued with great success that respect for tradition is not a legitimate reason to restrict marriage rights to groups that wish to do so, the next step seems clear. This ambiguous loophole creates two forms of marriage: “civil” marriages and “habitual” or “religious” marriages, allowing countries like Liberia, Malawi and Sierra Leone to accept and even promote polygamous marriages without having to recognize them. The town of Somerville, Massachusetts, has issued an ordinance that makes it one of the first cities in the country to officially recognize polyamorous relationships. The city no longer limits the number of people involved in a partnership. In countries that prohibit polygamy, the crime is commonly referred to as bigamy, although the penalty varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
In some countries where polygamy is illegal, the ban is not enforced. In 2018, there was a family case in which three adults (two men and one woman) claimed to be the legal parents of a child born in 2017. In other parts of the world, including parts of the Middle East and Asia, polygamy is legal but not widespread. And in some countries – particularly in a segment of West and Central Africa known as polygamy belts – the practice is often legal and widespread. Debates on the legalization of polygamous marriages continue in Central Asian countries. [ref. needed] Historically, non-traditional relationships (e.g., same-sex couples and IMC relationships) and families (e.g., biracial families) have been criminalized and found unfit to raise their own children. Despite reforms and progress in some family structures, these negative assumptions persist today. Many judges conclude, without evidence, that people who deal with IMC are less moral, less stable, and less able to care for children than monogamous people (e.g., V.B. V.E.B., 2012; Cross v. Cross, 2008).
In addition, some family courts have misunderstood polyamorous relationships, many assuming that long-term plural relationships are synonymous with “wife exchange” or casual sex-only swinging. (Cross v. Cross, 2008; In re Aleksandree M.M., 2010). Ignorance of polyamory fosters systematic discrimination against these families. The legality of the practice of polygamy differs from country to country, with each country prohibiting, permitting or encouraging the practice. Polygamy is more common in countries that recognize or promote polygamy. Islam is the only major religion whose sacred texts arguably advocate polygamy. Verse 3 of Sura 4 An-Nisa (women) explains that under certain (and disputed) circumstances, a man can marry up to four wives. According to this text, many Muslim countries allow a man to have up to four wives. However, many also require the man to indicate whether he plans to be monogamous or polygamous under the marriage contract with his first wife, and if she does not allow it, he cannot marry another woman as long as he is married to her. In addition, polyandry, in which a wife has several husbands, is still strictly prohibited. The town of Somerville, Massachusetts was one of the first cities to legally recognize polyamorous relationships.
3. Pakistan: Polygamy is legal in Pakistan under a 1961 law. The law in this country allows Muslim men to marry up to four wives. However, he must first obtain the legal consent of his first wife before arranging a second marriage. Europe, Australia and America are among the territories where polygamy is completely prohibited. Polygamy usually takes the form of polygamy – when a man marries several wives. Polyandry, which refers to women with more than one husband, is even rarer than polygamy and is mostly documented in small, relatively isolated communities around the world. While polygamy laws are generally biased in favor of men – but not women – to take multiple spouses, the laws of many countries also speak in favor of women`s rights. In Burkina Faso, for example, where polygamy is common, spouses must agree that a marriage will be polygamous from the beginning so that the husband can take another wife in the future.
In Djibouti, a judge records the opinions of existing wives on new marriages and reviews the husband`s socio-economic situation before approving a marriage contract with another wife. Polygamy is the term used to describe a marriage between three or more people. Polygamy contrasts with monogamy, which is a marriage between only two people. While monogamy is the standard approach to marriage in Europe and America, polygamy is common in much of Africa and the Middle East, and is also observed in parts of Southeast Asia. Ultimately, however, according to Pew Research in 2020, “only about 2% of the world`s population lives in polygamous households.” Hindu law allows polygamy within certain parameters, although the application varies from one Hindu country to another. For example, traditional Hindu law allowed polygamy if the first wife could not give birth to a son. In addition, Balinese Hinduism allows sanctioned and unrestricted polygamy, but marriage is regulated by adat or traditional customs. Polyamory, an intimate relationship involving multiple partners with the consent of each partner involved, has become a topic of general interest as celebrities have confirmed being in polyamorous relationships. Under UAE law, polygamy is legal in the UAE, but limited to men of the Islamic faith. A man can take four wives only if he can ensure equal treatment and maintenance for all women. Brazil – Marriage of a single person to more than one other person is prohibited by law as bigamy, punishable by two to six years in prison,[144] and applies to any Brazilian citizen, including naturalized citizens. According to a Politico article, legalizing polygamy is the “most natural next step” in countries where it is currently banned.
Only about 2% of the world`s population lives in polygamous households, and in the vast majority of countries this proportion is less than 0.5%. Polygamy is banned in much of the world, and the UN Human Rights Committee, which has declared that “polygamy violates the dignity of women,” has called for it to be “definitively abolished wherever it still exists.” But there are often limits to the public administration of marriages. In many countries, marriages are governed by religious or customary law, meaning that supervision is in the hands of clerics or community leaders. Councillor Lance Davis, chair of the Legislative Affairs Committee, has drafted new legislation to recognize domestic partnerships — something the city has yet to do.