Introduction to the Chapter
Polygamy raises the most intractable of conflicts – that between women’s right to equality in marriage and the rights to freedom of religion and culture. Polygyny means a marriage system under which a man may be simultaneously married to several women. Under state laws in many countries, men in specific religions or ethnic groups are permitted to practice polygyny. Polygyny is just one form of polygamy, the other being polyandry – multiple husbands for one woman. Although anthropologists sometimes list remote areas of the world where polyandry is practiced, no state law permits it.
Cases
| Reynolds v. United States, 98 U.S. 145 (1878). |
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| United States Supreme Court | External Link | |
| Uganda Ass’n of Women Lawyers v. Attorney General, Const. Pet. No. 2/03, (10 Mar 2004). |
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| Constitutional Court of Uganda | External Link | |
Uganda is located in Eastern Africa, west of Kenya.
- Population: 44,712,143 (July 2021 est.)*
- Ethnic Groups: Baganda 16.9%, Banyakole 9.5%, Basoga 8.4%, Bakiga 6.9%, Iteso 6.4%, Langi 6.1%, Acholi 4.7%, Bagisu 4.6%, Lugbara 4.2%, Bunyoro 2.7%, other 29.6% (2002 census)
- Religions: Roman Catholic 41.9%, Protestant 42% (Anglican 35.9%, Pentecostal 4.6%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.5%), Muslim 12.1%, other 3.1%, none 0.9% (2002 census)
- More information at the CIA World Factbook
*Population estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected.
| Law and Advocacy for Women in Uganda (LAW-U) v. Attorney General, Const. Pets. Nos. 13/05 & 05/06, [2007] UGCC 1 (5 April 2007). |
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| Constitutional Court of Uganda | ||
Other Documents
| Polygyny as a Violation of Women’s Right to Equality in Marriage: An Historical, Comparative and International Human Rights Overview, Susan Deller Ross, 24 Delhi L. Rev. 22 (2002). |
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| RossRights | ||
| International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), G.A. res. 2200A (XXI), 21 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 16) at 52, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966), 999 U.N.T.S. 171, entered into force Mar. 23, 1976. |
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| Original | External Link* | |
| UN High Comm’r for Human Rights | External Link | |
| *Click on “Certified true copy”. | ||
| Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, G.A. res. 34/180, 34 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 46) at 193, U.N. Doc. A/34/46, entered into force Sept. 3, 1981. |
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| Original | PDF* | External Link** |
| UN High Comm’r for Human Rights | External Link | |
| *Document begins at the bottom right of the first page. **Click on “Certified true copy”. |
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| Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, General Recommendation 21, Equality in marriage and family relations (Thirteenth session, 1992), U.N. Doc. A/49/38 at 1 (1994), reprinted in Compilation of General Comments and General Recommendations Adopted by Human Rights Treaty Bodies, U.N. Doc. HRI/GEN/1/Rev.6 at 250 (2003). | ||
| United Nations | External Link | |
| Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, General Recommendation 24, Women and Health (Twentieth session, 1999), U.N. Doc. A/49/38 at 1 (1994), reprinted in Compilation of General Comments and General Recommendations Adopted by Human Rights Treaty Bodies, U.N. Doc. HRI/GEN/1/Rev.6 at 250 (2003). | ||
| United Nations | External Link | |
| Human Rights Committee, General Comment 28, Equality of rights between men and women (article 3), U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.10 (2000). |
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| U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights | External Link | |
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African Charter Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, Adopted by the 2nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union, Maputo, CAB/LEG/66.6 (Sept. 13, 2000); reprinted in 1 Afr. Hum. Rts. L.J. 40, entered into force Nov. 25, 2005. |
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| African Union | External Link | |
| African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights | External Link | |
Links from the Chapter
Related Maps and Photos
Tanzania (see Ephrahim v. Pastory and Kazilege at p. 169 of the text) is located in East Africa on the Indian Ocean. It is bordered to the north by Kenya and to the south by Mozambique. It borders Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) (via Lake Tanganyika) on the east.
- Population: 62,092,761 (July 2021 est.)
- Ethnic Groups: 99% African (95% Bantu), 1% Asian, European, and Arab
- Religions: Christian 30%, Muslim 35%, indigenous beliefs 35%
- More information at the CIA World Factbook
*Estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected.
Mauritius is an island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar. It was once the only home of the now-extinct dodo bird.
Mauritius is only 2040 km2 (788 mi2).
- Population: 1,386,129 (July 2021 est.)
- Ethnic Groups: Indo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian 3%, Franco-Mauritian 2%
- Religions: Hindu 48%, Roman Catholic 23.6%, Muslim 16.6%, other Christian 8.6%, other 2.5%, unspecified 0.3%, none 0.4% (2000 census)
- More information at the CIA World Factbook
Bangladesh, formerly known as East Pakistan, is located in Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India.
- Population: 164,098,818 (July 2021 est.)*
- Ethnic Groups: Bengali 98%, other 2% (includes tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims) (1998)
- Religions: Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998)
- More information at the CIA World Factbook
*Population estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected.
India is located in Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan.
- Population: 1,339,330,514 (July 2021 est.)
- Ethnic Groups: Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3% (2000)
- Religions: Hindu 80.5%, Muslim 13.4%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.1% (2001 census)
- More information at the CIA World Factbook
