Polygamy in Zimbabwe

Polygamy is the practice of having more than one spouse; while prohibited under Zimbabwean civil law, polygamous marriages may be performed under the country's customary law. Less than one-fifth of the country's population are engaged in polygamy.

## Legality[edit]

In Zimbabwean civil law, the Marriage Act of Zimbabwe only recognises monogamous marriages.[1] However, the majority of marriages in Zimbabwe are customary; the relevant African Marriages Act of Zimbabwe recognises both polygamous and "potentially polygamous" unions. Most of these customary marriages are unregistered.[2]

## Incidence[edit]

Polygamy in Zimbabwe was traditionally practised by the tribal chiefs as a means of elevating their social standing, though they would typically only take two or three wives.[3] According to a 2008 William & Mary Law School study, an estimated 18 percent of Zimbabwean women belong to polygamous marriages.[2] The study suggested that there may be a decrease in the incidence of polygamy in Zimbabwe due to an ever-weakening economy that would not enable men to financially support multiple partners.[2]

Polygamy in Zimbabwe has been criticised by various mainstream Christian groups that 80 percent of the country identify with.[2] A 2008 study by the University of Fort Hare stated that polygamy was more prevalent in rural Zimbabwe and especially among the Shona people; it also argued that "polygamy ... seems to propagate child sexual abuse in schools because it sees no boundary between adults and children."[4]

### Notable marriages[edit]

In September 2012, Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai customarily married Elizabeth Macheka, following a court ruling that he could not legally marry her in light of his already being engaged to two other women, Locardia Karimatsenga and Nosipho Regina Shilubane. However, a spokesperson for Tsvangirai said that the prime minister only wished to have one wife.[5]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Marriage Act (Chapter 5:11)". Zimbabwe Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
2. ^ a b c d Gher, Jaime M. "Polygamy and Same-Sex Marriage – Allies or Adversaries Within the Same-Sex Marriage Movement". William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice. 14 (3): 595-596.
3. ^ Wilfred N. Tichagwa (1994). Children and Women in Zimbabwe: A Situation Analysis, Update 1994. UNICEF. p. 46.
4. ^ Megan J. Smith (2008). Child Sexual Abuse: Issues and Challenges. Nova Publishers. p. 129\. ISBN 9781600219993.
5. ^ "Zimbabwe PM marries woman under polygamy custom". Reuters. 16 September 2012.

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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
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* 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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