Knowledge

Polygamy in Ghana

Source đź“ť

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:.

Index

personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay
help improve it
encyclopedic style
Learn how and when to remove this message
Polygamy
Ghana
Ghanaian women

cite
sources
improve this section
adding citations to reliable sources
removed
Learn how and when to remove this message

cite
sources
improve this section
adding citations to reliable sources
removed
Learn how and when to remove this message

Archived
Wayback Machine
"In Secret, Polygamy Follows Africans to N.Y."
The New York Times
"Ghana: Polygamy Creating Problem In Northern Region"
"BBC NEWS - Africa - Relationship trends: Ghana experience"

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.

↑