Polygyny vs. Polyandry
Grenita Allen-Jones
Professor Padilla-Wilson
Anthropology 05
April 15, 2014
Polygyny vs. Polyandry
In our society, we seem to accept marriage as a union between two people. In other societies, they have different views on marriage such as polygyny and polyandry. Polygyny is when a man is permitted to marry more than one woman and polyandry permits a woman to marry more than one man. Through the research of anthropologist it was discovered that polyandry is much less common than polygyny. In fact polyandry is only practiced in about four societies in the entire world.
In 2000, the United Nations Human Rights Committee considered polygamy a violation of the internationally binding International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on the grounds that it violates the dignity of women, and recommended it be made illegal in all states. In some parts of Africa such as Kenya and Nigeria it is legal for people to engage in polygamy under customary law. Polygyny is still practiced today in not only Africa but also Asia and a few other middle-eastern countries. In these societies the men are expected to marry more than one woman and also support them. When a man has many wives it signifies his wealth and high status. But some men who have neither still have several wives. The women in some cultures work and make more money than the men. In these type of societies the men marry these women in hopes of gaining wealth.
It's thought that an excess of women could be one of the few explanation for these type of relationships. This excess of women is said to be due to the man’s role in society, specifically warfare. It is also said that men and women prefer to have polygamous marriages because it offers advantageous benefits. When the women sees that a man has many resources, it attracts her to him and she will marry even if she is not the first wife because she is sure that her and her children will be well taken care of. An example of one resource that signifies high
Professor Padilla-Wilson
Anthropology 05
April 15, 2014
Polygyny vs. Polyandry
In our society, we seem to accept marriage as a union between two people. In other societies, they have different views on marriage such as polygyny and polyandry. Polygyny is when a man is permitted to marry more than one woman and polyandry permits a woman to marry more than one man. Through the research of anthropologist it was discovered that polyandry is much less common than polygyny. In fact polyandry is only practiced in about four societies in the entire world.
In 2000, the United Nations Human Rights Committee considered polygamy a violation of the internationally binding International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on the grounds that it violates the dignity of women, and recommended it be made illegal in all states. In some parts of Africa such as Kenya and Nigeria it is legal for people to engage in polygamy under customary law. Polygyny is still practiced today in not only Africa but also Asia and a few other middle-eastern countries. In these societies the men are expected to marry more than one woman and also support them. When a man has many wives it signifies his wealth and high status. But some men who have neither still have several wives. The women in some cultures work and make more money than the men. In these type of societies the men marry these women in hopes of gaining wealth.
It's thought that an excess of women could be one of the few explanation for these type of relationships. This excess of women is said to be due to the man’s role in society, specifically warfare. It is also said that men and women prefer to have polygamous marriages because it offers advantageous benefits. When the women sees that a man has many resources, it attracts her to him and she will marry even if she is not the first wife because she is sure that her and her children will be well taken care of. An example of one resource that signifies high