Polygamy In Africa

     Contrary to popular Western belief, studies have found that polygamous families are better off than monogamous families in poor communities. According to author Katy Migoro, citing a study done involving 3,500 households, "In Tanzania, polygamous families owned more cattle and farmed more land than monogamous ones in the same villages." This is interesting as the United Nations and many Western nations tend to depict polygamy as a detrimental practice, specifically on women. In addition, as a sidenote, I thought it was interesting that this article mentioned the amount of cattle as if it had a significance to determining one's wealth, as mentioned in class. In terms of polygamy being detrimental to women, David Lawson, lead researcher of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, argues against that notion, stating that women actually benefit by being in a polygamous relationship. He notes that we must take into account the cultural values of the area, and that it would be more advantageous for women to be in a polygamous relationship. Lawson argues, "Most of the policy speak on this topic is not actually very evidence based... What we are arguing for is cultural sensitivity." He goes on to state, "Of course we want to improve the status of women. But if you just change marriage laws without addressing the underlying position of women within society, you may restrict their options, so it could be detrimental."

Source(s): http://allafrica.com/stories/201510271829.html