Polygamy in Uganda

Polygamy is legal in the landlocked African nation of Uganda, where a man is allowed to marry multiple wives at a time. Due to this, most families tend to contain an abundance of children.[1]

Dynamics

Uganda is one of the few predominantly Christian nations to legally recognize polygamous unions, with others being the Republic of the Congo, Zambia, and Central African Republic. The legal status of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is disputed. There have been numerous attempts to outlaw polygamy in the country, the first of which was in 1987, though none of the active proposals have passed. Polygamy is being challenged in the constitutional court in a petition brought by MIFUMI [2] in January 2010. The case File:Polygamy Wiki Entry.pdf#filelinks has yet to be heard.

History of the Domestic Relations Bill

Protest against bill that would limit polygamy

On March 29, 2005, over 1,000 Ugandan Muslims rallied against a proposed bill that would require a husband to seek permission from his first wife before marrying any more women. Uganda is one of the few countries allowing polygamous unions that do not have such restrictions. The bill later died, and similar proposals have yet to be made.[11]

References

  1. ↑ Village life in Uganda
  2. ↑ http://www.mifumi.org
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ WOMEN'S GROUPS HAIL APPROVAL OF DOMESTIC RELATIONS BILL
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ Uganda: Prevalence of forced marriage in Uganda and the availability of state protection (2000-2004)
  7. ↑ Violence Against Women in Northern Uganda
  8. ↑ Uganda: Domestic violence, including legislation, statistics and attitudes toward domestic violence; the availability of protection and support services
  9. ↑
  10. ↑
  11. ↑ Ugandan 'polygamy' bill protest