Blog 3: Polygamy Throttles Women in Senegal

In Senegal, located on the West coast of Africa, there has been an increase in polygamist marriages. The majority of the women in these marriages are forced into them, some girls as young as 15 are made to marry men who are sometimes 20 years their senior. A large percentage of women suffer abuse at the hands of their husbands, or from the other wives in these types of marriages. Some men who take multiple wives try to rationalize their lifestyles by saying that because the population has more women than men, it creates a balance between the sexes. According to the author of this article, this belief is wrong and infringes upon the rights of the women in these marriages. In some cases women get passed down as inheritances from one male family member to another. Other men think that by marrying multiple women they have lowered their risk for contracting and spreading STDs. In my opinion this is just a poor excuse for men to escape commitment to one woman for the rest of their lives. If women were afforded the same opportunity, to take multiple husbands, then perhaps this type of marrying would not be so unequal. Another disadvantage for women involved in polygamist marriages is that they are uneducated “and unaware of their rights as women” (Niang). I don’t think there is anything wrong with polygamous marriages if all parties involved are compliant and enter the marriage freely. I think it is wrong to force women into any type of marriage situation they don’t want to be involved in. 

Original Article: http://www.globalissues.org/news/2012/09/12/14768