Polygamy in Namibia

While polygamous marriages are not legally recognized under the civil marriage laws of Namibia, a bill was successfully passed in 2003,{{Citation needed}} based on the model in South Africa,[1] which recognizes polygamous unions under customary law; affording a generous amount of benefits to polygamous unions, ranging from inheritance rights to child custody. It has been estimated that nearly one in seven women in Namibia live in polygamous relationships, which has resulted in large numbers of unmarried men.[2]

Since May 2009, a debate concerning legalizing civil polygamous marriages has been ongoing throughout the parliament in Namibia. The bill has faced both praise and fierce opposition.[3] There have also been past attempts to outlaw polygamous marriages (including under customary law), which have received about an equal reaction.[4] A bill that would have provided pension benefits to the spouses of a deceased polygamous president was voted down in 2004.[5]

## See also

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* Okujepisa omukazendu

## References

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1. ^ RECOGNITION OF CUSTOMARY MARRIAGES IN SOUTH AFRICA: A MODEL FOR NAMIBIA?
2. ^ Namibia: Family Code
3. ^ Namibia debates polygamy Archived 23 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
4. ^ Nico Horn: International human rights norms and standards: The development of Namibian case and statutory law.
5. ^ Polygamy

* v
* t
* e

Polygamy in Africa

Sovereign states|

* Algeria
* Angola
* Benin
* Botswana
* Burkina Faso
* Burundi
* Cameroon
* Cape Verde
* Central African Republic
* Chad
* Comoros
* Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Republic of the Congo
* Djibouti
* Egypt
* Equatorial Guinea
* Eritrea
* Eswatini
* Ethiopia
* Gabon
* The Gambia
* Ghana
* Guinea
* Guinea-Bissau
* Ivory Coast
* Kenya
* Lesotho
* Liberia
* Libya
* Madagascar
* Malawi
* Mali
* Mauritania
* Mauritius
* Morocco
* Mozambique
* Namibia
* Niger
* Nigeria
* Rwanda
* São Tomé and Príncipe
* Senegal
* Seychelles
* Sierra Leone
* Somalia
* South Africa
* South Sudan
* Sudan
* Tanzania
* Togo
* Tunisia
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

States with limited
recognition

* Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
* Somaliland

Dependencies and
other territories

* Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla (Spain)
* Madeira (Portugal)
* Mayotte / Réunion (France)
* Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom)
* Western Sahara

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Polygamous marriage by country

Performed
legally|

| Nationwide|

* Afghanistan
* Algeria
* Bahrain
* Bangladesh
* Bhutan
* Brunei
* Cameroon
* Chad
* CAR
* Comoros
* Congo
* Djibouti
* Egypt
* Gabon
* The Gambia
* India
* Polygyny
* Polyandry
* Indonesia
* Iran
* Kenya
* Kuwait
* Libya
* Maldives
* Mauritania
* Morocco
* Myanmar
* Oman
* Pakistan
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* Senegal
* Singapore
* Somalia
* Sudan
* South Sudan
* Tanzania
* Togo
* Uganda
* UAE
* Yemen
* Zambia

|

Statewide|

* Iraq1
* Nigeria2
* Palestine
* Syria1

Recognized if
performed
legally abroad|

* Australia (2008)
* New Zealand (1980)
* United Kingdom (2008; welfare only)

Recognized under
customary law|

* Botswana
* Burkina Faso
* Equatorial Guinea
* Guinea-Bissau
* Hong Kong (performed until 1971)
* Jordan
* Lebanon
* Lesotho
* Liberia
* Malawi
* Mali
* Malaysia
* Mozambique
* Namibia
* Niger
* Nigeria
* Sierra Leone
* South Africa
* Swaziland
* Zimbabwe

Other countries
and regions|

* Angola
* Benin
* Burundi
* Canada
* DR Congo
* Côte d'Ivoire
* Eritrea
* Ethiopia
* France
* Ghana
* Guinea
* Iraqi Kurdistan
* Kazakhstan
* Kyrgyzstan
* Laos
* Mauritius
* Mexico
* Mongolia
* Niue
* Russia
* Rwanda
* Sri Lanka
* Tajikistan
* Thailand
* Tunisia
* Turkey
* Turkmenistan
* United States
* Uzbekistan
* Vietnam
* Malaysia

* Legal status
* Polygamy
* Polygyny
* Polyandry
* Non-monogamy
* Polygamy by country
* Marriage practice by country

* 1 Kurdish-controlled areas criminalize polygamy
* 2 Regions governed by Sharia

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