Get Guardian on GoogleScholars have raised concerns over the potential social, psychological, sexual health and financial consequences of polygyny, warning that poorly managed multiple-wife marriages could expose families to rivalry, emotional trauma and economic pressures.
They expressed their views during The Toyin Falola Interviews, an international panel discussion on the theme, “Polygamy: Amplifying African Voices,” convened by renowned historian, Professor Toyin Falola.
A medical pragmatics scholar, Dr Victoria Faleke Ogunnike, warned that uncontrolled polygyny could create an environment of competition among co-wives, with possible consequences for their mental health and the wellbeing of children.
Ogunnike identified jealousy, rivalry, psychological trauma and uncontrolled childbearing as some of the challenges that could arise when men failed to manage their households responsibly.
She also cautioned that inadequate attention to sexual health could expose partners to sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, gonorrhoea and syphilis.
The scholar further noted that the financial demands of maintaining multiple households and raising children could put considerable pressure on family resources, potentially worsening tensions among spouses.
Supporting the concerns, Professor Emeritus A.B. Assensoh, a political scientist, legal scholar and ordained minister, drew on his experience growing up in a royal household where his father had six wives.
Assensoh, who described himself as the 36th child, said jealousy, greed and competition among members of the household sometimes made family life difficult.
He observed that even a man with considerable financial resources could face challenges maintaining harmony in a large polygamous family.
Similarly, South African educational leadership scholar, Dr Teboho Solomon Ngubane, said the sustainability of polygyny depended on the husband’s financial capacity, fairness, integrity and ability to treat all wives with respect.
He stressed that every wife deserved dignity and every child deserved adequate care and attention, adding that men should not enter multiple marriages without considering their capacity to meet these responsibilities.
However, the Vice-Chancellor of Northwest University, Sokoto, Professor Mukhtar Umar Bunza, said polygyny had a place within Islamic teachings, which permit a man to marry up to four wives, subject to the condition of justice.
According to him, a man who cannot guarantee fairness among his wives should marry only one.
Veteran journalist and media strategist, Chief Adetola B. Adeniyi, cautioned against portraying sexual health risks as exclusive to polygyny, arguing that irresponsible sexual behaviour could expose people in monogamous relationships to sexually transmitted infections as well.
In his remarks, Falola said the discussion was intended to provide a nuanced examination of polygyny, rather than simply defend or condemn the practice.
He said the conversation sought to explore its cultural and social dimensions, including questions of responsibility, obligation, adaptability, continuity and reconciliation with tradition.
The panel brought together scholars and professionals from different backgrounds to examine the cultural, religious, social and health implications of polygyny.
