Polygamy in Islam: Cultural Pressures and Religious Justifications in Pakistan

  • Farooq-e-Azam Department of Sociology, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Management and Technology, Lahore https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4741-6113
  • Iram Rubab Department of Sociology, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Management and Technology, Lahore https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8552-9549
  • Ambreen Salahuddin Department of Sociology, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Management and Technology, Lahore https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5717-5969
  • Ahmed Usman Department of Sociology, Institute of Social and Cultural Studies, University of the Punjab Lahore
Keywords: gender relations, Pakistani culture, patriarchy, polygamy, religious justification

Abstract

Abstract Views: 777

Polygamy is socially accepted and religiously allowed in most parts of the world. Polygamy is practiced by males, particularly for various justifiable reasons. The current study aims to analyze the interplay of culture and religion to describe the existing practice of polygamy in Punjab, Pakistan. It is further interested in analyzing the male perspective regarding the practice of polygamy. The study is theoretically grounded in the patriarchal theory and Agarwal’s concept of bargaining in gender relations. In Pakistan, like many other Muslim countries, religion is the major support taken by men for practicing polygamy along with other cultural justifications. Wife’s infertility or inability to produce the male offspring and forced marriage practices are amongst the major justifications of polygamy found in the current study. During this phenomenological research, the researchers included the male perspective only by targeting 5 polygamous marital unions from the various parts of the Punjab province. The findings include forced marriages, cousin marriages, age difference in first marriage, first wife’s infertility and inability to produce the male offspring, and the absence of male successor in case of landowning families as major causes for males being polygamous. The study also found males from different socioeconomic backgrounds living in polygamous marital unions. This study suggests that the patriarchal interpretation of religion and culture needs to be defined and the prevalent justification of polygamous marriages needs to be revisited. Similarly, the true Islamic intent for marrying multiple women and of equality and justice amongst wives needs to be explored through scholarly research.

Keywords: Gender relations, Pakistani culture, Patriarchy, Polygamy, Religious justification

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Agarwal, Bina. “Bargaining and Gender Relations: Within and Beyond the Household.” Feminist Economics 3, no. 1. (1997). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/135457097338799

Berkowitz, Dana., and William Marsiglio. “Gay men: Negotiating Procreative, Father, and Family Identities.” Journal of Marriage and Family 69, no. 2. (2007). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2007.00371.x

Chaleby, Kutaiba. “Traditional Arabian Marriages and Mental Health in a Group of Outpatient Saudis.” Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 77, no. 2. (1988). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0447.1988.tb05090.x

Chowdhury, Muhammad Faisol. “Interpretivism in Aiding Our Understanding of the Contemporary Social World.” Open Journal of Philosophy (2014). DOI: https://doi.org/10.4236/ojpp.2014.43047

Elbedour, Salman., Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie, and Mohammad Alatamin. “Behavioral Problems and Scholastic Adjustment among Bedouin-Arab Children from Polygamous and Monogamous Marital Family Structures: Some Developmental Considerations.” Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs 129, no. 3 (2003).

Elizabeth A Archampong. “Reconciliation of Women’s Rights and Cultural Practices: Polygamy in Ghana.” Commonwealth Law Bulletin, 36: 2, (2010): 325-332, DOI: 10.1080/03050718.2010.481401. 2010. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03050718.2010.481401

England, Paula., and Nancy Folbre. “Involving Dads: Parental Bargaining and Family Well-Being.” Handbook of Father Involvement: Multidisciplinary Perspectives (2002): 387-408.

Hennink, Monique M., Inge Hutter, and Ajay Bailey. Qualitative Research Methods. London: SAGE, 2011.

Kandiyoti, Deniz. “Rethinking Bargaining with Patriarchy.” Feminist Vision of Development: Gender, Analysis and Policy, 2005.

Klomegah, Roger. “Socio-Economic Characteristics of Ghanaian Women in Polygynous Marriages.” Journal of Comparative Family Studies 28, no. 1 (1997). DOI: https://doi.org/10.3138/jcfs.28.1.73

Kramer, Laura. The Sociology of Gender: A Brief Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2015.

Al-Krenawi, Alean., John Graham, and Abuelaish Izzeldin. “The Psychosocial Impact of Polygamous Marriages on Palestinian Women.” Women and Health 34, no. 1. (2001). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1300/J013v34n01_01

Al-Krenawi, Alean. “A Study of Psychological Symptoms, Family Function, Marital and Life Satisfactions of Polygamous and Monogamous Women: The Palestinian Case.” International Journal of Social Psychiatry 58, no. 1. (2012). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0020764010387063

Madhavan, Sangeetha. “Best of Friends and Worst of Enemies: Competition and Collaboration in Polygyny.” Ethnology. 2002. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/4153021

Saigol, Rubina. Feminism and the Women's Movement in Pakistan. 2016.

Salahuddin, Ambreen. Feminism in Modern Urdu Poetesses. Lahore: West Pakistan Urdu Academy, 2005.

Al-Shamsi, Mariam Sultan Abdullah., and Leon C. Fulcher. “The Impact of Polygamy on United Arab Emirates’ First Wives and Their Children.” https://tripleap.blogspot.com/2009/11/impact.htmlTertilt, Michele. “Polygyny, Fertility, and Savings.” Journal of Political Economy 113, no. 6 (2005). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/498049

Thobejane, Tsoaledi Daniel., and Takayindisa Flora. “An Exploration of Polygamous Marriages: A Worldview.” Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences 5, no. 27 P2 (2014). DOI: https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n27p1058

Walby, Sylvia. Theorizing Patriarchy. Oxford, UK: B. Blackwell. 1990.

Wazir, Muhammad Asif., and Anne Goujon. “Assessing the 2017 Census of Pakistan using Demographic Analysis: A Sub-national Perspective.” No. 06/2019. Vienna Institute of Demography Working Papers. 2019.

Yahya, Harun. Islam, the Religion of Ease. Global Yayincilik, 2004.

Zakaria, Rafia. “The Problems of Polygamy.” DAWN News-01 Oct 2014 Retrieved from https://www.dawn.com/news/1135346

Published
2021-09-22
How to Cite
Farooq-e-Azam, Iram Rubab, Ambreen Salahuddin, and Ahmed Usman. 2021. “Polygamy in Islam: Cultural Pressures and Religious Justifications in Pakistan”. Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization 11 (2), 245-57. https://doi.org/10.32350/jitc.112.13.
Section
Articles