172:
easily transfer the costs of childbearing and rearing to women. The religions that consist in Ghana currently are 12 percent Muslim, 38 percent traditionalist, 41 percent
Christian, and the rest (about 9 percent) other. There were points of conflict in terms of marriage where the Islamic and traditional beliefs support polygamy while Christian beliefs support monogamy against polygamy. Nevertheless, religious tolerance in Ghana is very high. With that, polygamy has existed all over Africa because it represents aspects of their religion and culture. Polygamous unions have been more present in Africa like no other continent around the globe.
97:
which farmers focus mainly on growing food to feed themselves and their families. Another factor for its start was war. When numerous men die in combat, having more than one wife boosts the population. A person's status in society and wealth became associated with the number of wives a man had. On the contrary, polyandry was a way of limiting a population with few resources and too many people. A woman can only conceive and birth so many children, no matter how many husbands she has/had.
186:
111:
25:
84:, but the restrictions are not heavily enforced. Polygamous marriages are illegal under civil law, though are arguably considered to be legal under customary law . Despite these exceptions, there have been no reports of a legally contracted polygamous marriage in Ghana; and are considered to be "de facto" illegal. An estimated 22% of
263:
Estimates of the prevalence of polygamy in
African societies range from 20 percent to 50 percent of all marriages. At first polygamy in western Africa was very popular, but as Islam has started to diffuse in this region, the prevalence of polygamy has significantly lowered due to the restriction that
96:
Polygamy has been around and practiced for centuries by cultures from all over the world, but there is no exact location of its beginning. It was believed to be more prevalent in places where colonial economic gains centered on subsistence farming (e.g. Africa). This agriculture is self-sufficient in
250:
Polygamy in Africa was viewed as a way a family could build an empire. The extent of spousal communication about contraception, which is positively associated with the level of use, is also lower among polygamous spouses. Therefore, one of the reasons polygamy is popular is because
African societies
259:
Polygamy has always been a significant institution in
African society and continues to be the "most distinctive feature of African marriage" (Garenne and Van De Walle, 1989, p. 267). It was only after the colonial era in Africa appeared when polygamy started being looked at as a taboo. It is
171:
Currently (2015), Polygamy is illegal in Ghana, although laws against this lifestyle are not heavily enforced against those who choose to live it. Polygamous marriages are illegal under civil law. They are arguably considered to be legal under customary law. Men in polygamous marriages can more
246:
The earliest study of polygyny in Ghana focused on only rural urban residence and its relationship to polygyny. The study showed that the incidence of polygyny was about the same in both urban and rural areas. This was because at that time, life in rural and urban areas was not marriage type
260:
also said that there was an economic factor why this happened: there were issues of property ownership that conflicted with
European colonial interest. Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region in the world where polygamy remains widespread.
247:
selective. Those who could afford and maintain more than one wife, or those, who because of their occupation such as farming, trading and laundry saw advantages of the lifestyle, usually were those who practiced polygyny.
873:
788:
899:
946:
942:
703:
938:
608:
798:
733:
623:
929:
35:
828:
1595:
916:
907:
793:
903:
833:
1422:
643:
533:
46:
989:
282:
264:
appeared to the number of wives a man could have. Later the country was influenced by
Christianity which has the ideal of monogamy.
1060:
628:
460:
1235:
565:
1070:
648:
496:
324:
1201:
1646:
207:
132:
378:
299:
982:
437:
233:
158:
64:
215:
140:
427:
1427:
1280:
211:
136:
1309:
663:
1417:
1636:
1590:
975:
1631:
1457:
251:
see children as a form of wealth and this way a family with more children was considered more powerful.
955:
558:
1641:
1537:
1482:
1565:
1532:
1374:
1369:
1164:
1133:
813:
803:
196:
121:
39:
that states a
Knowledge editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic.
1272:
1185:
1022:
818:
708:
638:
280:
200:
125:
1542:
1512:
1467:
1462:
1349:
1138:
1090:
1037:
878:
763:
748:
688:
526:
1507:
1477:
1379:
1264:
1110:
753:
551:
1552:
1517:
1487:
1437:
1384:
1301:
1156:
1075:
1050:
853:
678:
673:
653:
618:
603:
42:
8:
1547:
1522:
1432:
1412:
1364:
1354:
1331:
1326:
1230:
1175:
1143:
1065:
1032:
1027:
925:
838:
808:
778:
768:
758:
723:
718:
668:
613:
588:
488:
Doing the works of
Abraham : Mormon polygamy : its origin, practice, and demise
1527:
1502:
1497:
1452:
1442:
1402:
1336:
1211:
1196:
1123:
1103:
1042:
848:
843:
783:
738:
698:
593:
574:
514:
303:
349:
1407:
1359:
1240:
1206:
1180:
1148:
1128:
1118:
1098:
1085:
1080:
823:
773:
728:
713:
683:
658:
598:
502:
492:
433:
1492:
1472:
1341:
1055:
743:
633:
967:
286:
404:
85:
1625:
506:
1585:
379:"Gender Equality in Ghana - Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI)"
382:
1580:
543:
486:
185:
110:
1575:
1570:
998:
77:
425:
1609:
81:
350:"BBC NEWS - Africa - Relationship trends: Ghana experience"
36:
personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay
484:
325:"Ghana: Polygamy Creating Problem In Northern Region"
997:
254:
373:
371:
369:
367:
1623:
426:Raeann R Hamon, Bron B Ingoldsby (2003-08-14).
364:
300:"In Secret, Polygamy Follows Africans to N.Y."
1603:Kurdish-controlled areas criminalize polygamy
983:
559:
100:
214:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
139:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
990:
976:
566:
552:
532:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
458:
297:
234:Learn how and when to remove this message
159:Learn how and when to remove this message
65:Learn how and when to remove this message
1624:
573:
971:
547:
461:"Sex, fauxnogamy and the married man"
212:adding citations to reliable sources
179:
137:adding citations to reliable sources
104:
18:
13:
485:Hardy, B. Carmon, editor. (2017).
91:
14:
1658:
432:. SAGE Publications. p. 86.
381:. Genderindex.org. Archived from
298:Bernstein, Nina (23 March 2007).
1317:Hong Kong (performed until 1971)
874:Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
644:Democratic Republic of the Congo
491:. University of Oklahoma Press.
184:
109:
23:
255:Prevalence of polygamy in Ghana
175:
478:
459:KobGraham (8 September 2015).
452:
429:Mate Selection Across Cultures
419:
397:
342:
317:
291:
274:
1:
267:
1596:Marriage practice by country
7:
10:
1663:
285:September 5, 2015, at the
101:Laws and religion in Ghana
1561:
1393:
1292:
1253:
1220:
1015:
1006:
887:
862:
581:
629:Central African Republic
1647:Women's rights in Ghana
45:by rewriting it in an
789:SĂŁo TomĂ© and PrĂncipe
649:Republic of the Congo
1608:Regions governed by
1284:(2008; welfare only)
385:on 25 September 2015
208:improve this section
133:improve this section
1637:Polygamy by country
1591:Polygamy by country
999:Polygamous marriage
864:States with limited
575:Polygamy in Africa
88:live polygamously.
1632:Polygamy in Africa
525:has generic name (
304:The New York Times
47:encyclopedic style
34:is written like a
1619:
1618:
1310:Equatorial Guinea
1249:
1248:
965:
964:
891:other territories
664:Equatorial Guinea
498:978-0-8061-5906-5
329:African Spotlight
244:
243:
236:
169:
168:
161:
75:
74:
67:
1654:
1642:Society of Ghana
1612:
1604:
1293:Recognized under
1285:
1277:
1269:
1013:
1012:
992:
985:
978:
969:
968:
952:
951:(United Kingdom)
947:Tristan da Cunha
943:Ascension Island
935:
922:
913:
889:Dependencies and
582:Sovereign states
568:
561:
554:
545:
544:
538:
537:
530:
524:
520:
518:
510:
482:
476:
475:
473:
471:
456:
450:
449:
447:
446:
423:
417:
416:
414:
412:
401:
395:
394:
392:
390:
375:
362:
361:
359:
357:
352:. News.bbc.co.uk
346:
340:
339:
337:
335:
321:
315:
314:
312:
311:
295:
289:
278:
239:
232:
228:
225:
219:
188:
180:
164:
157:
153:
150:
144:
113:
105:
70:
63:
59:
56:
50:
27:
26:
19:
1662:
1661:
1657:
1656:
1655:
1653:
1652:
1651:
1622:
1621:
1620:
1615:
1607:
1602:
1557:
1458:Iraqi Kurdistan
1395:
1394:Other countries
1389:
1294:
1288:
1283:
1275:
1267:
1257:
1255:
1245:
1216:
1008:
1002:
996:
966:
961:
960:
950:
933:
920:
911:
892:
890:
883:
867:
865:
858:
577:
572:
542:
541:
531:
522:
521:
512:
511:
499:
483:
479:
469:
467:
457:
453:
444:
442:
440:
424:
420:
410:
408:
407:. Law.emory.edu
403:
402:
398:
388:
386:
377:
376:
365:
355:
353:
348:
347:
343:
333:
331:
323:
322:
318:
309:
307:
296:
292:
287:Wayback Machine
279:
275:
270:
257:
240:
229:
223:
220:
205:
189:
178:
165:
154:
148:
145:
130:
114:
103:
94:
92:Polygamy origin
71:
60:
54:
51:
43:help improve it
40:
28:
24:
17:
12:
11:
5:
1660:
1650:
1649:
1644:
1639:
1634:
1617:
1616:
1614:
1613:
1605:
1599:
1598:
1593:
1588:
1583:
1578:
1573:
1568:
1562:
1559:
1558:
1556:
1555:
1550:
1545:
1540:
1535:
1530:
1525:
1520:
1515:
1510:
1505:
1500:
1495:
1490:
1485:
1480:
1475:
1470:
1465:
1460:
1455:
1450:
1445:
1440:
1435:
1430:
1425:
1420:
1415:
1410:
1405:
1399:
1397:
1391:
1390:
1388:
1387:
1382:
1377:
1372:
1367:
1362:
1357:
1352:
1347:
1344:
1339:
1334:
1329:
1324:
1321:
1318:
1315:
1312:
1307:
1304:
1298:
1296:
1290:
1289:
1287:
1286:
1281:United Kingdom
1278:
1270:
1261:
1259:
1258:legally abroad
1251:
1250:
1247:
1246:
1244:
1243:
1238:
1233:
1228:
1224:
1222:
1218:
1217:
1215:
1214:
1209:
1204:
1199:
1194:
1191:
1188:
1183:
1178:
1173:
1170:
1167:
1162:
1159:
1154:
1151:
1146:
1141:
1136:
1131:
1126:
1121:
1116:
1113:
1108:
1107:
1106:
1101:
1093:
1088:
1083:
1078:
1073:
1068:
1063:
1058:
1053:
1048:
1045:
1040:
1035:
1030:
1025:
1019:
1017:
1010:
1004:
1003:
995:
994:
987:
980:
972:
963:
962:
959:
958:
956:Western Sahara
953:
936:
923:
914:
900:Canary Islands
896:
895:
893:
888:
885:
884:
882:
881:
876:
870:
868:
863:
860:
859:
857:
856:
851:
846:
841:
836:
831:
826:
821:
816:
811:
806:
801:
796:
791:
786:
781:
776:
771:
766:
761:
756:
751:
746:
741:
736:
731:
726:
721:
716:
711:
706:
701:
696:
691:
686:
681:
676:
671:
666:
661:
656:
651:
646:
641:
636:
631:
626:
621:
616:
611:
606:
601:
596:
591:
585:
583:
579:
578:
571:
570:
563:
556:
548:
540:
539:
497:
477:
451:
438:
418:
396:
363:
341:
316:
290:
272:
271:
269:
266:
256:
253:
242:
241:
192:
190:
183:
177:
174:
167:
166:
117:
115:
108:
102:
99:
93:
90:
86:Ghanaian women
80:is illegal in
73:
72:
31:
29:
22:
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1659:
1648:
1645:
1643:
1640:
1638:
1635:
1633:
1630:
1629:
1627:
1611:
1606:
1601:
1600:
1597:
1594:
1592:
1589:
1587:
1584:
1582:
1579:
1577:
1574:
1572:
1569:
1567:
1564:
1563:
1560:
1554:
1551:
1549:
1546:
1544:
1541:
1539:
1538:United States
1536:
1534:
1531:
1529:
1526:
1524:
1521:
1519:
1516:
1514:
1511:
1509:
1506:
1504:
1501:
1499:
1496:
1494:
1491:
1489:
1486:
1484:
1481:
1479:
1476:
1474:
1471:
1469:
1466:
1464:
1461:
1459:
1456:
1454:
1451:
1449:
1446:
1444:
1441:
1439:
1436:
1434:
1431:
1429:
1428:CĂ´te d'Ivoire
1426:
1424:
1421:
1419:
1416:
1414:
1411:
1409:
1406:
1404:
1401:
1400:
1398:
1392:
1386:
1383:
1381:
1378:
1376:
1373:
1371:
1368:
1366:
1363:
1361:
1358:
1356:
1353:
1351:
1348:
1345:
1343:
1340:
1338:
1335:
1333:
1330:
1328:
1325:
1322:
1319:
1316:
1314:Guinea-Bissau
1313:
1311:
1308:
1305:
1303:
1300:
1299:
1297:
1295:customary law
1291:
1282:
1279:
1274:
1271:
1266:
1263:
1262:
1260:
1254:Recognized if
1252:
1242:
1239:
1237:
1234:
1232:
1229:
1226:
1225:
1223:
1219:
1213:
1210:
1208:
1205:
1203:
1200:
1198:
1195:
1192:
1189:
1187:
1184:
1182:
1179:
1177:
1174:
1171:
1168:
1166:
1163:
1160:
1158:
1155:
1152:
1150:
1147:
1145:
1142:
1140:
1137:
1135:
1132:
1130:
1127:
1125:
1122:
1120:
1117:
1114:
1112:
1109:
1105:
1102:
1100:
1097:
1096:
1094:
1092:
1089:
1087:
1084:
1082:
1079:
1077:
1074:
1072:
1069:
1067:
1064:
1062:
1059:
1057:
1054:
1052:
1049:
1046:
1044:
1041:
1039:
1036:
1034:
1031:
1029:
1026:
1024:
1021:
1020:
1018:
1014:
1011:
1005:
1000:
993:
988:
986:
981:
979:
974:
973:
970:
957:
954:
948:
944:
940:
937:
931:
927:
924:
918:
915:
909:
905:
901:
898:
897:
894:
886:
880:
877:
875:
872:
871:
869:
861:
855:
852:
850:
847:
845:
842:
840:
837:
835:
832:
830:
827:
825:
822:
820:
817:
815:
812:
810:
807:
805:
802:
800:
797:
795:
792:
790:
787:
785:
782:
780:
777:
775:
772:
770:
767:
765:
762:
760:
757:
755:
752:
750:
747:
745:
742:
740:
737:
735:
732:
730:
727:
725:
722:
720:
717:
715:
712:
710:
707:
705:
704:Guinea-Bissau
702:
700:
697:
695:
692:
690:
687:
685:
682:
680:
677:
675:
672:
670:
667:
665:
662:
660:
657:
655:
652:
650:
647:
645:
642:
640:
637:
635:
632:
630:
627:
625:
622:
620:
617:
615:
612:
610:
607:
605:
602:
600:
597:
595:
592:
590:
587:
586:
584:
580:
576:
569:
564:
562:
557:
555:
550:
549:
546:
535:
528:
516:
508:
504:
500:
494:
490:
489:
481:
466:
462:
455:
441:
439:9780761925927
435:
431:
430:
422:
406:
400:
384:
380:
374:
372:
370:
368:
351:
345:
330:
326:
320:
306:
305:
301:
294:
288:
284:
281:
277:
273:
265:
261:
252:
248:
238:
235:
227:
217:
213:
209:
203:
202:
198:
193:This section
191:
187:
182:
181:
173:
163:
160:
152:
142:
138:
134:
128:
127:
123:
118:This section
116:
112:
107:
106:
98:
89:
87:
83:
79:
69:
66:
58:
48:
44:
38:
37:
32:This article
30:
21:
20:
1586:Non-monogamy
1566:Legal status
1533:Turkmenistan
1447:
1375:South Africa
1370:Sierra Leone
1306:Burkina Faso
1165:Saudi Arabia
939:Saint Helena
910:
814:South Africa
804:Sierra Leone
693:
609:Burkina Faso
487:
480:
470:24 September
468:. Retrieved
465:The Guardian
464:
454:
443:. Retrieved
428:
421:
411:24 September
409:. Retrieved
399:
389:24 September
387:. Retrieved
383:the original
356:24 September
354:. Retrieved
344:
334:24 September
332:. Retrieved
328:
319:
308:. Retrieved
302:
293:
276:
262:
258:
249:
245:
230:
224:January 2024
221:
206:Please help
194:
176:Who and why?
170:
155:
149:January 2024
146:
131:Please help
119:
95:
76:
61:
52:
33:
1396:and regions
1273:New Zealand
1186:South Sudan
1023:Afghanistan
866:recognition
819:South Sudan
709:Ivory Coast
523:|last=
1626:Categories
1543:Uzbekistan
1513:Tajikistan
1468:Kyrgyzstan
1463:Kazakhstan
1350:Mozambique
1139:Mauritania
1091:The Gambia
1038:Bangladesh
1016:Nationwide
1001:by country
921:(Portugal)
879:Somaliland
799:Seychelles
764:Mozambique
749:Mauritania
734:Madagascar
689:The Gambia
624:Cape Verde
445:2015-09-27
310:2015-09-27
268:References
55:April 2021
1581:Polyandry
1508:Sri Lanka
1478:Mauritius
1380:Swaziland
1265:Australia
1256:performed
1236:Palestine
1221:Statewide
1172:Singapore
1111:Indonesia
1104:Polyandry
1007:Performed
754:Mauritius
515:cite book
507:985887197
195:does not
120:does not
1576:Polygyny
1571:Polygamy
1553:Malaysia
1518:Thailand
1488:Mongolia
1438:Ethiopia
1423:DR Congo
1385:Zimbabwe
1346:Malaysia
1302:Botswana
1190:Tanzania
1157:Pakistan
1134:Maldives
1099:Polygyny
1076:Djibouti
1051:Cameroon
945: /
941: /
934:(France)
928: /
906: /
902: /
854:Zimbabwe
829:Tanzania
679:Ethiopia
674:Eswatini
654:Djibouti
619:Cameroon
604:Botswana
283:Archived
78:Polygamy
16:Marriage
1548:Vietnam
1523:Tunisia
1433:Eritrea
1413:Burundi
1365:Nigeria
1355:Namibia
1332:Liberia
1327:Lesotho
1323:Lebanon
1231:Nigeria
1176:Somalia
1169:Senegal
1149:Myanmar
1144:Morocco
1066:Comoros
1033:Bahrain
1028:Algeria
1009:legally
930:RĂ©union
926:Mayotte
917:Madeira
912:(Spain)
908:Melilla
839:Tunisia
809:Somalia
794:Senegal
779:Nigeria
769:Namibia
759:Morocco
724:Liberia
719:Lesotho
669:Eritrea
639:Comoros
614:Burundi
589:Algeria
405:"Ghana"
216:removed
201:sources
141:removed
126:sources
41:Please
1610:Sharia
1528:Turkey
1503:Rwanda
1498:Russia
1483:Mexico
1453:Guinea
1443:France
1418:Canada
1403:Angola
1337:Malawi
1320:Jordan
1276:(1980)
1268:(2008)
1212:Zambia
1197:Uganda
1124:Kuwait
1095:India
1047:Brunei
1043:Bhutan
949:
932:
919:
849:Zambia
844:Uganda
784:Rwanda
739:Malawi
699:Guinea
594:Angola
505:
495:
436:
1448:Ghana
1408:Benin
1360:Niger
1241:Syria
1207:Yemen
1181:Sudan
1161:Qatar
1129:Libya
1119:Kenya
1086:Gabon
1081:Egypt
1071:Congo
904:Ceuta
824:Sudan
774:Niger
729:Libya
714:Kenya
694:Ghana
684:Gabon
659:Egypt
599:Benin
82:Ghana
1493:Niue
1473:Laos
1342:Mali
1227:Iraq
1193:Togo
1153:Oman
1115:Iran
1056:Chad
834:Togo
744:Mali
634:Chad
534:link
527:help
503:OCLC
493:ISBN
472:2015
434:ISBN
413:2015
391:2015
358:2015
336:2015
199:any
197:cite
124:any
122:cite
1202:UAE
1061:CAR
210:by
135:by
1628::
519::
517:}}
513:{{
501:.
463:.
366:^
327:.
991:e
984:t
977:v
567:e
560:t
553:v
536:)
529:)
509:.
474:.
448:.
415:.
393:.
360:.
338:.
313:.
237:)
231:(
226:)
222:(
218:.
204:.
162:)
156:(
151:)
147:(
143:.
129:.
68:)
62:(
57:)
53:(
49:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.