Facts

Cultural Perspective
Polygamy is a marriage in which
there are more than two partners.
Cultures that practice polygamy
include: Indian, African,
Mormon Fundamentalist, and
Muslim
Cultures justify it through both
social and economic reasons.
The marriage system fulfilled
sexual, social, economic, and
security needs of both the men
and women. It also addressed
the issues of unmarried
women stealing another
womens husband or going
into prostitution (Nyanseor).
The practice of polygamy gave
more manpower for families to
cultivate the agricultural land,
bringing more wealth and
economic benefits.
Mormon Fundamentalists also
believe that it is required to
achieve salvation in Heaven.

Polygamy. The
husband is having
absolute power over
the family. Nawal El Saadawi
Abandoned wives and children
have no legal support.

They are obligated to accept

polygamy. Women are treated as
inferior and property because
they cannot object their husband
taking more wives.
Polygamy lowers a womens
social and economic status
because it forces her to compete
with the other wives and
children for scarce resources.
It impacts the womens physical
and mental health. There is an
increase in the spread of STDs
and HIV/AIDS between the
wives and children through the
husband. There is also an
increase in domestic abuse.

Women
Oppression by

Polygamy

Von Struensee, Susan. "The Contribution

of Polygamy to Women's Oppression and
Impoverishment: An Argument for Its
Prohibition." SSRN, 2004. Web. 2015.

Group 4
Calvin Hang, Na Zhang, and Alissa Barcena
Nyanseor, Siahyonkron. "Polygyny
(Polygamy) Is Already A Practice." The
Perspective, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2015.

Geog 2
Dr. Presaido

What is it?
A part of culture or
A way to oppress women?

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2

Statistics
Over 3 billion people around the world believe in polygamy. About 2 billion men and
women are in polygamous relationships.
2 billion women and children are oppressed by polygamy.
Polygamy is legal in the culture of over 150 countries. In countries such as the United
States and Western Europe, over 200,000 people practice it secretly and illegally.
"Polygamy Stop." Polygamy Stop, 2005. Web. 21 Mar. 2015. <http://www.polygamystop.org/history.html>.

Images from:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/LfW05NliJtg/U1ET4wiTZI/AAAAAAAACCw/YUW2Sm7
tHJw/s1600/No+polygamy.jpg
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:
Status_of_polygamy_worldwide.png
http://www.veracityglobe.com/wpcontent/uploads/2015/01/5.jpg
http://sound-choices.com/wpcontent/uploads/2014/12/say-no.jpg
http://www.jihadwatch.org/wpcontent/uploads/2014/04/polygamy.jpg
http://ihoppe.com/bpic/nopo.jpg
http://www.aleteia.org/image/en/article/
polygamy-coming-to-america5881816992972800/web-polygamy-protestemily-hoyer/topic

Stop Polygamy?
How?
Polygamists:
Polygamists can stop the oppression of
women by putting an end to the cultural
practice by being monogamous instead.
Times have changed, however. With time,
cultures change.
Society:
Being informed is always the first step.
Spreading awareness. Around the world,
polygamy is practiced everywhere, even in
countries in which it is illegal. Contact
public officials, such as state governors,
attorney generals, and legislators, to
address the problem. Donate or join
nonprofit groups, such as Campaign
Against Polygamy And Women
Oppression International (CAPWOI).

Government:
In many countries, polygamy is under
political consideration. In those countries,
the governments can make implement a
law making polygamy illegal. In the
United States, though it is illegal, few
people still practice polygamy because each
states punishment is either a misdemeanor
or felony. The US federal government
should implement polygamy and
cohabitation to be illegal under the
Criminal Code or Constitution.