Polygamy and South Africa

Under the right circumstances polygamy can work. Unfortunately a majority of the time a polygamist relationship has to many issues to be considered a healthy relationship . Polygamy is the condition or practice of having more than one spouse at a time, also known as plural marriage. Polygamy has been practiced through out history in different cultures and religions which include, the Mormons and Muslims. Even the current President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, is a polygamist who has at least eighteen children from four different wives and various girlfriend’s.. ` “plural marriage, or polygamy was a nineteenth-century Church of Latter Day Saints practice of having more than one wife, also known as polygyny. Even though polygamy had been practiced for much of history to do so in “enlightened” America in the nineteenth century was viewed as incomprehensible and unacceptable” (Bachman, Esplin). Polygamy started in America in the nineteenth century when the prophet Joseph Smith was studying the bible and came to the conclusion that many revered prophets and the patriarchs of old were in fact polygamists and thus if god permitted it why couldn’t a man have more that one wife without it being considered adultery. Lorenzo Snow, an acquaintance of Joseph Smith, remembered a conversation in 1843 in which the prophet described the battle he waged. “He knew the voice of god - he knew the commandment of the almighty to him was to go forward - to set the example and establish celestial plural marriage. He knew that not only did he have his own prejudices and pre-possessions to combat and to overcome, but those of the whole Christian world…but god…had given the commandment” [The Biography and Family Record of Lorenzo Smith, pp 69-70 (Salt Lake City, 1884) (Bachman, Esplin)]. Although polygamy is frowned upon, it is still practiced today by a small percentage of Mormons the majority of whom reside in the rural areas of Utah. According to the Quran a man must reach certain qualifications to be eligible to have multiple wives. Meeting the individual need’s of the women, whether it be putting food on the table, maintaining employment, etc. “Islam has emphasized that the basic objective of healthy marital life comes from mutual love and benevolence between the husband and wife which normally can be found in the form of regular marriage. Preservation of that cordiality, stability, and purity in the family life can be seen clearly in the Quranic doctrines as well as in the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad” (Ameley) (Muhammad). After reading some of these writings you could conclude that under the right circumstances a plural marriage could work in Islam or any other culture or religion for that matter; but more often than not plural marriage is not practical or reasonable. Joseph Zuma, the current president of South Africa is and has been an admitted polygamist who has at least four wives and several girlfriend’s, who have produced eighteen or more children. Zuma an unabashed Zulu traditionalist once told a reporter “there of plenty of politicians who have mistresses and children they hide so as to pretend they’re monogamous. I prefer to be open. I love my wives and I’m proud of my children.” Surprisingly his first wife Sizakele Khumalo who he met in 1959 has not mothered any of his children, although Zuma has publicly praised his wife, and was the wife chosen to be first lady. Whether or not you agree with the practice of polygamy, Jacob Zuma proudly admits his heritage and is loved by the underprivileged civilians of South Africa (Clayton). “His promises of a better life for the impoverished forgotten of a country enjoying the longest period of economic growth in its history reverberate much more loudly with the masses than damaging courtroom revelations about his financial rectitude or failure to wear a condom” (Clayton). Zuma makes his home at Nklanda district in KwaZulu-Natal. Where supporters come from all around to have an audience with the man. “ Zuma has the unwavering support of the South Africa’s eleven million Zulus, the country’s largest single tribe, who have not forgotten how he ended a bloody civil war in the region in the early 1990’s” (Clayton). There are many different views on polygamy whether good or bad. Whether man or woman, a person should have the choice of having a plural marriage, especially in America. After all, this is suppose to be the land of the free. Also if a group of people have come to the decision they want to enter into a plural marriage, as a society who are we to deny these people their love? Gay marriage has been under the same microscope and is considered more and more acceptable every day. If one is accepted, I don’t see why the other should be deemed immoral. On the other hand, spouses in polygamist relationship are always competing for the patriarch’s or matriarch’s love and affection. If the head of the family decides that he/she wants to introduce a new spouse the other spouses most likely will have no say in the matter. Another point to look at is that in some religions, such as Islam, polygamy is legal and as long as it is not taken advantage of and everyone involved is treated fairly and equally; why should it become an illegal marriage if that particular family moves to a country were plural marriage is illegal? One could even say they were being denied their freedom of religion which is supposed to be a key part of the Constitution. This raises the question of how seriously this matter is really taken in this country or any other for that matter. The opposite of this argument would be that a majority of plural marriages are most likely controlled by the head of the family who would undoubtedly abuse the situation and make the other spouses bend to his or her needs no questions asked(Deane). “For more than a century, the Church of Latter Day Saints has expelled those practicing polygamy. It is undoubtedly true that a blind-eye policy is practiced in some remote places, but the widespread idea that polygamy is legal in Utah is entirely wrong” (Deane). Polygamy has been practiced all over the world for as long as anyone can remember. Although polygamy is illegal in most regions of the world it is still apart of today’s society, and many cultures and prominent figures in society proudly built their lives around polygamist believes.