Poligamia 411

O Tribunal Constitucional espera que os homens de acusação que entram em casamentos não registrados irá ajudar a parar a poligamia.

O presidente do Tribunal Constitucional, no domingo jogou seu peso atrás de um projeto futuro para os homens multa ou prisão que não conseguiram registrar seus casamentos, a fim de contornar as restrições a poligamia.

Mahfud MD disse que os casamentos não registrados, conhecida localmente como siri, deve ser erradicado para proteger mulheres e crianças.

Um projeto de lei para alterar uma lei sobre o casamento religioso deverá ser debatido na Câmara dos Deputados ainda este ano.

"Eu concordo completamente com o projeto de lei como muitas pessoas se tornaram vítimas" dos casamentos não registrados, Mahfud disse. "As crianças são negligenciadas, enquanto [mulheres] são feitos objetos de desejo. "

Nasaruddin Umar, diretor-geral de orientação islâmica no Ministério de Assuntos Religiosos, disse que o ministério também apoiou a legislação. Ele alertou que uma vez que a lei foi aprovada pela Câmara, todos os cidadãos seriam obrigados a registrar seus casamentos ou enfrentar sanções legais.

"Não há mais casamentos não registrados,", Disse. "Todos os casamentos devem ser legalmente registrada com o Estado."

Nasaruddin disse que o ministério tinha comentado inúmeros casos de homens que entram em sindicatos não registrados em seu próprio benefício, inclusive sob o pretexto de "evitar o pecado de cometer" adultério através. Ele também disse que alguns homens casar sem o consentimento de suas primeiras esposas, que violou as leis de poligamia.

"No Islã, o casamento é muito sagrada e santa. Nenhum homem tem permissão para brincar com ele,"Eles Nasaruddin.

O Ministério de Assuntos Religiosos começou a redigir o projeto de lei há três anos com o objetivo de proteger as mulheres e crianças. "O projecto está agora com a Secretaria de Estado e está pronto para ser entregue ao presidente para revisão,"Eles Nasaruddin.

Artigo 143 do projeto de lei declara que "qualquer pessoa que intencionalmente realiza um casamento sem um registro de casamento enfrenta uma multa máxima de Rp 6 milhão [$642] ou prisão de seis meses. "

A lei existente no. 1/1974 em casamento exige que as pessoas registrem suas uniões com o escritório de registro civil, apropriado. Contudo, não existem penalidades para os infratores.

Nasaruddin disse que a lei não proibir a poligamia, acrescentando que os homens ainda estariam autorizados a se casar com até quatro mulheres, desde que os requisitos legais, que incluem a obtenção do consentimento por escrito de suas esposas.

"Todavia, todos os quatro casamentos devem ser registrados,", Disse.

Ma'ruf Amin, chefe do Conselho Indonésio de Ulemás (MUI), disse casamentos não registrados eram admissíveis no Islã, mas poderia ser pecaminoso se causado problemas para as esposas ou crianças.

Se todas as condições exigidas pela lei islâmica foram atendidas, como ter testemunhas e responsáveis ​​apresentam, ele disse, então o casamento seria considerado válido.

"Todavia, se o casamento cria dificuldades para as outras pessoas, como o marido abandonar suas outras esposas ou crianças, então é proibido,"Ma'ruf disse.

Ele reconheceu que alguns casamentos Siri resultou em esposas e crianças abandonadas, e disse que era provável que a força motriz por trás do projeto de lei para ter todos os casamentos registrados.

Ma'ruf disse que cabe aos legisladores para determinar a lei civil do país e estabelecer punições para aqueles que quebrou.

"Quando as pessoas conduzem casamentos Siri, pode ser legal, em conformidade com o Islã, mas também deve estar ciente do direito civil e suas sanções,", Disse.

Crédito para a informação acima: Jakarta Globe, Fevereiro. 15, 2010, por Anita Rachman & Muninggar Sri Saraswati

In Singapore, the Administration of Muslim Law Act (AMLA) generally governs family matters for Muslims; civil law governs family matters for non-Muslims. In certain areas, civil laws apply to both Muslim and non-Muslim communities, including maintenance of children and wives, domestic violence, adoption of children, and custody, care and control of children where there is no divorce application in the ‘Syariah Court’. Muslims can choose to go to civil courts or the Syariah Court for certain issues, though for a case to appear in the civil court, both parties must agree or the Syariah Court must grant leave for the civil court to hear the matter. Personal laws are generally fair and equitable for Muslim women, with Muslim women having many of the same rights as men, although there are still some areas of concern about apparent discrimination.

Four key areas of apparent discrimination are:

• Wali: Muslim brides require the consent of their walis to contract a marriage. If a woman’s colapsos refuses to give his consent, she can apply for the Registrar to be her wali hakim.
   
• Poligamia: An application for polygamous marriages must be made to the Registry of Muslim Marriages, which will conduct an inquiry on the suitability of the marriage before granting approval or rejecting the application. It is possible for women to restrict polygamous unions through the use of additional taqliq (conditions/promises) in the marriage contract, though this is still not well known. Polygamous marriages contracted outside of Singapore remain a major cause for concern.
   
• Rights to Divorce: Husbands have the right to divorce their wives by pronouncement of talaq, while wives have rights to divorce on grounds of cerai taqliq (breach of marriage condition), fasakh (dissolution of marriage for cause) ou khul’ (divorce by redemption). In almost all cases where women apply for divorce and are unable to prove a case by fasakh ou taqliq, a divorce was granted through a hakam procedure. In such cases, the wife does not lose her right to payment of mutah (compensation upon divorce) from her husband.
   
• Inheritance: Inheritance is generally determined according to Muslim rules of inheritance as modified, where applicable, by Malay customs. The following are situations of hardship that have occurred in the distribution of shares:
  • Adopted children who had taken care of their adopted parents receiving nothing;
  • A widow with young children being forced to sell the matrimonial home because the deceased’s brother or father insisted on claiming his share;
  • The son who is a prison inmate receiving more shares than a daughter who had looked after their parents;
  • A widow with young female children receiving fewer shares of the deceased husband’s estate because Baitulmal was granted some shares;
  • The non-Muslim wife and children receiving nothing of the deceased Muslim husband’s/father’s estate;
  • Muslims wanting to renounce Islam so that they are not governed by Muslim inheritance laws, which they perceive to be unjust and unfair.

• Some of the positive areas in the Administration of Muslim Laws Act (AMLA) include:
  • The minimum age of marriage is 18 anos.
  • The consent of both parties are required.
  • All marriages must be registered, and can be solemnised only by authorised persons.
  • In the division of matrimonial assets upon divorce, o Syariah Court takes into account non-monetary contributions such as looking after the family, domestic work, etc. All wives are awarded at least 30 per cent, while wives who made some financial contribution receive a higher share. All assets acquired during the marriage are included, regardless of who legally owns them.
  • Muslim wives can apply for maintenance in civil courts. Courts take into account actual incomes, earning capacity, and the needs of both parties. The concept of nushuz does not exist in civil law. Maintenance orders can be enforced upon default, including by imprisoning the respondent or deducting his monthly salary.
  • There is a dual responsibility to maintain the children if both parents are working. Fathers of illegitimate children are obliged to maintain their children.
  • In custody and guardianship cases, the guiding principle is the best interest of the children. The Syariah Court increasingly makes joint custody orders; joint custody is the norm and sole custody is the exception in civil courts.
     
• Positive law reform has been achieved, in many cases through the work of NGOs, including:
  • Amendments to the Women’s Charter to offer better protection for victims of family violence.
  • Amendments to the AMLA on the distribution of matrimonial assets upon divorce.
  • Constitutional amendments allowing overseas born children of Singaporean mothers and foreign fathers to acquire Singapore citizenship.
  • Amendments to the Penal Code that removed marital immunity in non-consensual sexual intercourse (rape) in cases under certain conditions that are leading toward divorce.
  • Procedural amendments to eliminate problems with enforcement of Syariah Court Orders.
     
• The Government adopts a ‘non-interference’ approach on issues pertaining to Islamic affairs, so for reform to happen, the Muslim community must advise the Government on what should be done, bearing in mind Singapore’s secular, multi-racial, multi-religious society. If any change or reform is to happen, it must come from within the Muslim community, which provides an opportunity for positive reform.

Fonte: Report submitted by the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE), following a consultation on 11 Novembro 2008 with representatives from eleven organisations, including the Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura, the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP), Casa Raudha Women’s Home, Darul Arqam, Muslim Converts Association, Singapore Council of Women’s Organization (SCWO), Young Women Muslim Organization (PPIS) and Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE).

Sharia: Government to act if Dutch law broken

Attempts to practise aspects of sharia (Islamic) law in the Netherlands which involve compulsion, pressure and a misuse of power will be clamped down hard on by the government, justice minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin told MPs on Tuesday.

The cabinet’s job is to ensure that the Netherlands does not develop ‘a parallel society in which people take the law into their own hands or maintain their own legal system which operates outside the framework of our own legal system’, the minister said.

Some aspects of sharia law, such as the differences between men and women and divorce laws, do conflict with key Dutch values and Dutch law will never allow legal polygamy, he told MPs.

Não obstante, some form of settling differences about questions of belief and behaviour did not have to conflict with public order, as long as they were entered into voluntarily, the minister said.

Before the summer break, the anti-immigration PVV party had asked Hirsch Ballin to investigate the setting up of sharia courts at some mosques. That investigation is due to be completed next year.

Crédito para a informação acima: © DutchNews.nl, 02-09-2009

Zahidul Islam

It is very unfortunate that polygamy in Islam has been a subject of controversy. While a group of scholars has, without going into deep study of the divine rules, preached that Islam has permitted to have more than one and upto four wives without reservation, the other group of scholars has, without paying any thought to the reality of life and society, opined that Islam in effect prohibited polygamy. Consequence is that they have made polygamy in Islam a moot question, which it is really not. Most deplorable state is that without any insights into the polygamy in Islam, some people have begun terming the provisions on polygamy as anti-women and biased to men. Hence here is an attempt to clarify the issues.

It is obvious that unrestricted polygamy was an accepted mode of behaviour during the aiamey jaheliah (period of ignorance). But the scenario changed radically after the Revelation, that is, Sura Nisa of the holy Quran. Verse 3 of Sura Nisa is clear with its provisions that:

“If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, marry women of your choice, dois, three or four; but if ye fear that you shall not be able to deal justly (com eles) then only one, ou (a captive) that your right hand possesses. Thus that will be more likely to prevent you from doing injustice.”

This is the verse that contains perfect guidance for the believers that they may marry more than one wife only when they sincerely believe and possess the capacity to deal justly with the co-wives. But where they have an apprehension that it would not be possible for them to do justice as between wives, they are commanded to have only one wife. And this is the approved course of marital life which, as Allah says, will prevent men from doing injustice.

Then the next question is whether a Muslim man possesses the capacity to practice perfect justice as between women. The answer is also present in verse 129 of Sura Nisa. In this verse Allah, who knows the nature of man the best, cautions that ‘you are never able to be fair and just as between women, even if it is your ardent desire’. Hence humans do not possess the ability to practice just dealing of a perfect nature. It is inferable from this verse that monogamy should be practiced as general rule of matrimonial behaviour.

Then what about the polygamy? There are diverse views as to this. The first view is that a male is permitted to have upto four wives with the condition that he should be just between them. The capacity to be perfectly just does not exist in the humans and hence it is impossible for a person to satisfy the condition of doing justice as among wives, Hence polygamy is, in effect, prohibited.

The advocates of the other view point out that the permission to have more than one wife is explicitly provided for and there is no express provision prohibiting polygamy and hence to deny it on the ground that the condition of justice is impossibility is fallacious. They argue that any such interpretation based on the relevant two verses is impermissible because it will mean that the two parts of the Holy Quran suffer from discrepancy which is an impossibility as pointed out by the Quran itself. Thus they reject absolute prohibition of polygamy as a rule of conduct under the Islamic law. They are of the opinion that a person can validly have upto four wives where he has no fear that he shall not be able to deal justly with them. But the person, who does not possess the ability to fulfil this condition but still takes the advantage of this permission, commits a fraud or abuses the Devine Permission. And for this he will be tried by Allah.

Contudo, the most accepted view taken by Islamic jurists and thinkers is that the permission to have more than one wife is conditional, and the condition is to deal with the wives justly. The nature of this condition is such as it is almost beyond the capacity of man to fulfil it. Portanto, the permission of polygamy is an exception and not a general rule.

The vital questions at this stage are two. Primeira, in what conditions or under what exceptional circumstances and according to what rules of conduct polygamy may be permitted. Segundo, for what purposes and reasons polygamous marriage is impermissible.

Before answering these two questions it seems necessary to mention the approach of Islam towards marriage. Islam accepts marriage as an essential requirement for the wellbeing of the individual and the society. On the contrary, Islam clearly disapproves celibacy and treats it as an unnatural condition which produces evil. Contudo, it does not regard marriage as inevitable. In the need of individual, family or society, there may be divorce and remarriage; and there are provisions for those. Likewise, Islam provides for polygamy for the better interest of the individual and as well as the society. Following are some specified circumstances when polygamy may also be permissible.

um. If we recall the occasion of the Revelation of the Quranic verse permitting polygamy, we see, it was after the war ‘Uhad’ when the Muslim community was faced with the problem of rehabilitation of many orphans, widows and captives of war. Their treatment was to be governed by principle of greatest humanity and equity. Thus it was commanded that you marry the orphans, widows if you are quite sure that in this way you will be able to protect their interest and property with perfect justice to them. Se não, make other arrangement for them. Contudo, it does not mean that this was guidance for that time only. Na verdade, it was a rule provided for posterity, since such a situation may be faced by some future nations. Examples are the present Palestine, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq etc.

b. Polygamy may be resorted to in those circumstances in which the purpose of marriage becomes frustrated. Capacity of procreation, care of children, of household affairs, marital sex satisfaction and compatibility of behaviour as between spouses are some of the elements of comprehensive purpose of a marriage. When such purpose is frustrated or not fulfilled because of wife’s barrenness, chronic illness, feeble-mindedness, madness, physical handicaps etc., polygamy may be permitted. The insights into this provision is that if another marriage was not allowed in such circumstances, and monogamy was the only way, then men would become prone to divorce the first wife resulting in throwing her in a more helpless and unsecured state of life.

Now comes a question that when a person practices polygamy in permissible limit, how will he deal with his wives, as it is clear that a man is not capable of doing perfect justice as between women?

Certainly, to escape Allah’s punishment, a person should try his best to do justice as between wives. Além disso, there is a guideline in the holy Quran (Sura Nisa, Verse 129) que: ‘But turn not away (from a woman) altogether so as to leave her (as it were) hanging (in the air).’

It means that where a person practices polygamy within the permissible limits, he should refrain form treating the first wife in a manner which renders her position as that of a woman without husband. Kindness and equity must inform marital relations even in case of a person having more than one wife.

The next point to be discussed here is the purposes and reasons for which polygamous marriage is impermissible. In Islam, protection of chastity and purity of sex life constitutes the basis of marital status. And the holy Quran in different places indicates that lust, lewdness, property, beleza, lineage, or status cannot be the motive for seeking a woman in marriage. Thus where any of these constitutes the basis of desiring a polygamous marriage, that will be violation of divine commandments and hence impermissible.

The question that comes here logically is whether the observance of these rules of conduct by Muslims may be left to their freewill or it is the duty of the state. Islamic jurists are of the opinion that Islamic state possesses the jurisdictions and power to take steps so that the injunction of the Quran is followed.

Bangladesh, like many others countries with large Muslim population, does have law, as personal law, to regulate polygamous marriage of its Muslim communities. The relevant portions of that law, i.e., section 6 of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961, reads as follows:

1. No man, during the subsistence of an existing marriage, shall, except with the previous permission in writing of the arbitration council, contract another marriage …

2. … (pesquisar) application form … shall be submitted to the chairman (of the arbitration council)… and shall state the reasons for the proposed marriage and whether the consent of the existing wife or wives has been obtained thereto.

3. On receipt of the application … the Chairman (of the arbitration council) shall ask the applicant and his existing wife or wives, each, to nominate a representative, and the arbitration council so constituted may, if satisfied that the proposed marriage is necessary and just, grant, subject to such conditions, if any, as may be deemed fit, the permission applied for.

This law has given the Arbitration Council a wide discretionary power to deal with the issue. Também, it has not defined what can possibly be ‘necessary and just grounds’ in this regard. These are why, according to legal experts, this law is prone to be abused. They think it necessary to define the expression ‘necessary and just ground’ with illustrations. Herewith I would like to add that that should be done in light of the rules of conduct provided in the holy Quran. No doubt, that will ensure maximum good to the Muslim individuals as well as the society.

The author is an advocate of Bangladesh Supreme Court, currently working for Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST). The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the organisation he serves

 Credit for the above info: The Daily Star.net/law, Abril 28, 2007, Issue No:17

“Family gathering in rural Siberia, where life can be very hard for women on their own. Photograph: Caroline Humphrey”

A study of polygamy in Russia suggests we have a lot to learn about how to beat the recession.

A study of polygamy in Russia might not seem an obvious place to look for insights into how the financial crisis might play out in suburban Kent or rural Yorkshire. But Caroline Humphrey, Sigrid Rausing professor of collaborative anthropology at Cambridge University, says central Asia and Russia have much to teach us.

“In the 1990s, Russia and central Asia experienced huge economic change: what a bank was, how your career was going, what you could expect from life, everything changed overnight,” she explains. “And of course it had a huge impact on people’s lives, from family life to politics, and polygamy is part of that whole scene. So far, we haven’t had such dramatic change in the west, but you never know.”

Humphrey specialises in the anthropology of communities on the edges of the former Soviet Union, and has spent much of her career studying the Buyrat people who live north of the Mongolian border in Siberia. Humphrey says that anthropologists slowly build a deep knowledge and understanding of a place and culture, but nevertheless, her discovery that there is a polygamy lobby was a surprise.

“Friends of mine in Siberia told me that their friends were lobbying parliament to legalise polygamy,” , diz ela. “I always knew that there were men who like the idea of polygamy, but what I found fascinating was that women were also in support.”

So is the recession going to turn the good burghers of Tunbridge Wells into polygamists? It’s unlikely. But it remains the case that the reasons why men – and, even more interestingly, women – are advocating polygamy in Russia and Mongolia are as much about economics as they are about sex. The critical issue is demography. The Russian population is falling by 3% a year – and there are 9 million fewer men than women. Nationalists, such as the eccentric leader of the Liberal Democratic party, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, claim that introducing polygamy will provide husbands for “10 million lonely women” and fill Mother Russia’s cradles.

Elsewhere, in the former Islamic regions of Russia, men argue that polygamous marriage is traditional and will encourage men to take greater responsibility – thereby alleviating poverty and improving “moral” education.

Improbably, for both groups, this is polygamy as a solution to contemporary social ills – and, according to Humphrey, is appearing outside Islamic regions. In rural areas the “man shortage”, exacerbated by war, alcoholism and mass economic migration, is even more serious. But when it comes to polygamy, rural women have a quite different agenda from their nationalist male counterparts.

“A lot of women live on what were collective farms, which are often deep in the forest and miles away from the nearest town,” Humphrey says. “You live very close to nature, and life can be very hard – your heating is entirely through log stoves, there’s no running water and inside sanitation is rare. If you are lucky enough to keep animals, you must care for and butcher them yourself. So if you are looking after children as well, life can be near impossible for a woman on her own.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly then, Humphrey’s investigations have uncovered women who believe that “half a good man is better than none at all”. “There are still some men around – they might be running things, with a job as an official, por exemplo, or they might be doing an ordinary labouring job, but either way, there aren’t very many of them,” , diz ela. “Women say that the legalisation of polygamy would be a godsend: it would give them rights to a man’s financial and physical support, legitimacy for their children, and rights to state benefits.”

Legalising polygamy has been repeatedly proposed and discussed in the Russian Duma, or parliament – and always turned down. For the urbanites of Moscow and St Petersburg it is a step too far.

In Mongolia, também, the legalisation of polygamous marriage is anathema. Yet in Ulan Bator, the thrusting capital city, well-educated women are combining traditional and modern to create something that looks suspiciously like a form of polygamy.

Surprisingly, it starts with the dowry. Eschewing the traditional gifts (cavalos, cushions, clothes), successful Mongolian families are increasingly giving their daughters a good education in place of a dowry. In contrast, their brothers often have to leave school early to either manage the herds or run the family business.

“In Mongolian culture, the bride’s family are the senior family; and a bride should be clever. And they had 70 years of communism, so the idea that women should be well-educated is not new,” Humphrey explains. “Since Mongolia, in common with Russia, also has a problem with alcoholism, there is an imbalance between urban educated women and the number of men these educated women deem to be suitable husband-material.”

The solution is simple: they just don’t get married. Em vez, they take what is known as a “secret lover” – usually a well-educated man who just happens to be married to someone else. Any children resulting from the union are brought up by their mother and the maternal family.

“It is completely accepted. These women are among the elite of Mongolian society – they might be a member of parliament or a director of a company and they are tremendously admired,” Humphrey says. “They would be horrified by the idea of polygamous marriage because they don’t want to risk their independence.”

So what does this mean for marital relations in Russia and central Asia? Humphrey says it’s unlikely that polygamous marriage will ever be legalised in Russia – but perhaps that doesn’t matter.

“An insufficiency of men, educated women who want to realise themselves, rural women who want to protect themselves, all these things are going to give rise to arrangements like polygyny,” says Humphrey, “whether it’s called that or not.”

Crédito para a informação acima: By Mira Katbamna- The Guardian,Terça-feira, 27 De outubro 2009, guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009

Qatar is located in the Middle East peninsula, bordering the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia.

Polygamy rate is low in Qatar.

A study has dismissed as “untrue” the notion that polygamy is a prevalent practice among Qataris, pointing out that the polygamous marriage rate has remained at a low level in the last two decades.

The study, which was released by the Population Committee at the General Secretariat for Development Planning, said the number of Qataris who took only one wife ranged from 89% para 96% in the period between 1997 e 2007.

“During the period covered by the study, the trend was neither declining nor rising. This means that polygamous marriages do not signify a social phenomenon in the country,” the study said.

While the number of men marrying two wives accounted for 3.8% para 8.7% during the years covered by the study, it did not exceed 0.3% for those who have taken three or four wives.

Although Muslim men are permitted to marry up to four women simultaneously, Islam makes it obligatory for those who take more than one wife to deal with them justly. And if the husband is not sure about that, then he is ordained to marry one.

Crédito para a informação acima: Gulf Times, by Anwar Elshamy, 8/31/09

She worked at the Red Lobster in Times Square and lived with her husband near Yankee Stadium. Yet one night, returning home from her job, Odine D. discovered that African custom, not American law, held sway over her marriage.

A strange woman was sitting in the living room, and Ms. D.’s husband, a security guard born in Ghana, introduced her as his other wife.

Devastated, Ms. D., a Guinean immigrant who insisted that her last name be withheld, said she protested: “I can’t live with the woman in my house — we have only two bedrooms.” Her husband cited Islamic precepts allowing a man to have up to four wives, and told her to get used to it. And she tried to obey.

It’s difficult, but one accepts it because it’s our religion,” said Doussou Traoré, 52, president of an association of Malian women in New York, who married an older man with two other wives who remain in Mali. “Our mothers accepted it. Our grandmothers accepted it. Why not us?"

Polygamy in America, outlawed in every state but rarely prosecuted, has long been associated with Mormon splinter groups out West, not immigrants in New York. But a fatal fire in a row house in the Bronx on March 7 revealed its presence here, in a world very different from the suburban Utah setting of “Big Love,” the HBO series about polygamists next door.

No one knows how prevalent polygamy is in New York. Those who practice it have cause to keep it secret: under immigration law, polygamy is grounds for exclusion from the United States.

The woman is in effect the slave of the man,” said a stylish Guinean businesswoman in her 40s who, like many women interviewed in Harlem and the Bronx, spoke on the condition of anonymity. “If you protest, your husband will hit you, and if you call the police, he’s going to divorce you, and the whole community will scorn you.”

“Even me,” she added. “My husband went to find another wife in Africa, and he has the right to do that. They tell you nothing, until one afternoon he says, ‘O.K., your co-wife arrives this evening.’ ”

Islam is often cited as the authority that allows polygamy. But in Africa, the practice is a cultural tradition that crosses religious lines, while some Muslim lands elsewhere sharply restrict it. The Koran says a man should not take more than one wife if he cannot treat them all equally — a very high bar, many Muslims say.

It’s not life, your man sharing a bed with another woman,” Ms. D. dito. “You’re always thinking in your head, ‘does he love me?’ ”

Such stories of polygamy, New York style, are typically shared by women only in whispered conversations in laundries and at hair-braiding salons. With no legal immigration status and no right to asylum from polygamy, many are afraid to expose their husbands to arrest or deportation, which could dishonor and impoverish their families here and in Africa.

Crédito para as informações acima: New York Times by Nina Bernstein/2/23/07

I read about polygamy in Switzerland at http://dictatorprincess.wordpress.com/some-thoughts-on-the-legal-aspects-of-polygamy-in-switzerland-for-foreigners. Although a bit lengthy, it’s very interesting so I thought I’d share:”I read case law when I am bored… I must preface this by saying that I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. Contudo, I want to share my understanding of the current legal situation in Switzerland. As this is a hot topic in the Muslim community, I would like to make the following post as a public service to all those Pious Brothers just dying to fulfill the sunnah. Never mind the whole praying, eating halal, fasting Ramadan stuff (you know, that fard stuff), brothers who love this part of the sunnah and are considering polygamy in Switzerland, this is for you:

DON’T DO IT, YOU WILL GET CAUGHT, AND IT WILL BE NASTY. Even if you are one big happy family.

While I am not debating the permissibility of polygamy in Islam… I will give a little food for thought about reigning jurisprudence in Switzerland. And speaking of just dying to fulfill the sunnah I do believe in following the sunnah of following the laws of the land in which you live. De qualquer maneira:

Under Swiss law, polygamy is bigamy. If you are a born Swiss citizen there is not much that happens to you should you partake in this sunnah other than eventual welfare or tax fraud charges…oh and losing custody of your children. Contudo, if you are a foreign brother, even if you don’t care about the laws of the koofaar, the following might give you an opportunity to twist your beard a bit:

If you are naturalized man who is Swiss through marriage and you contract a second Islamic marriage while being married to the Swiss wife who “naturalized” you and the authorities find out about it, THEY WILL STRIP YOU OF YOUR SWISS CITIZENSHIP AND KICK YOU OUT OF THE COUNTRY. The legal reasoning behind stripping you of your citizenship is that you came about the citizenship illegally because you broke your oath to your spouse, and you broke the oath to the commune, the canton and the country to abide by its laws and polygamy is against the law. How’s that for a koofaar law?

So if you are a first wife and your husband tries to spin that he is marrying the sister to get the papers to make a better life for everyone, it doesn’t happen. Not here… If it isn’t a “sham” marriage but a true loving p marriage, good luck getting the neighbors not to be nosy, good luck not getting caught when you “divide your time”, good luck justifying why you send money to the same person who is not legally related to you every month…if there is the tiniest suspicion that the second relationship is more than just for the kids, or that it is ongoing- guess what? The authorities assume you aren’t serious about your first marriage, which means you don’t fill or continue the fill the requirements for ongoing residence in Switzerland, or if you are naturalized, it means you got your naturalization while you are screwing around. Which means both your residence permit and naturalization can be GONE…Even if the brother tries to do your job by the sunnah, you can still get busted for p. Na verdade, the only way not to get busted for p is for the brother to not do his job by the wife he is not legally married to. No money, no contact, no time. Cool huh? Not.

Regardless of what your personal views are, the Swiss expect you to follow Swiss law. This is the country where private citizens yell at you for jaywalking. Even if the brother in the p marriage lies says to the cops, “Oh that 2nd wife? She’s just my girlfriend, that second marriage thing is just cultural so that we could do it”- that argument does not hold up in court here. Period. (What brothers, you think no one ever thought of saying that before? That was actually in one of the judgements).

Let’s say things don’t go south, and hubby found a nice Swiss lady who loves you and loves partaking in the sunnah. Well good for everyone. But if an informant calls the police to say you are “bigamists”- it doesn’t matter if she is ok with it or not. The case will be investigated and prosecuted independent of the parties. This could be your parents, your neighbors, your boss. So living in the same apartment is going to raise eybrows, and if your hubby tries to divide his time fairly (which they never seem do but whatevs)- guess what? There’s always at least one neighbor who notices who is or isn’t coming and going. And what if the Swiss co-wife’s mom doesn’t like it and calls the cops? Same result.

Bigamists, when they do get prosecuted (and if they are foreign, before they get kicked out of the country), are usually prosecuted for cheating social welfare. Guess what, the wives are parties too! Which is why I said above- the second your hubby starts talking p, if you have any kind of social assistance, GET A LAWYER so that you don’t go to jail for FRAUD and get kicked out of the country and separated from your children.

Don’t let the brothers lose sight of this very important fact. At let’s not lose sight of the essential here: while we are “following Islam” remember that when you get married, mainstream Sunni thought is that you marry with the intention of getting married forever. Marriage for a fixed time period is not permitted in mainstream Sunni Islam, and if you marry someone with the full intention of it being temporary, you will be accountable to Allah swt.

Personally I think Swiss case law is racist because nothing really happens to Swiss bigamists (some light jail time if that…oh and if you count LOSING CUSTODY OF YOUR CHILDREN) and also because the wives and kids get sent back to Back Home if the man decides to “partake in the sunnah”, but I can guarantee you that the tide seems to be turning and a man in Switzerland thinks twice about trying to pull a fast one on anyone. One of the major cases that did go to the Federal Court involved an imam officiating what he knew to be a second marriage. The p dude, instead of getting a little more booty, got a one way ticket back home…Reputable imams in Switzerland do not do a nikah without a Swiss family book. No Imam who wants to keep his mosque or masjid open will do it here. While the argument could be made that the Swiss are a little hardcore for this, I think the US and a lot of other countries would be served by doing the same, at least in the short term, because I am tired of seeing sisters getting hurt by ignorant brothers and ignorant “so-called” imams.

It has happened that a third party can call out a p marriage in this country. So even if you go into it fully conscious and your hubby is on board and your co wife is on board and the imam is on board and you are one big happy P family, things can go south here legally in ways you could never imagine and you, whether you are a first wife or a second wife, can get caught up in whatever bad choices your husband makes and the result can make a world of difference in yours and your children’s welfare… p is just NOT WORTH IT here. Even with the best of intentions, even with all parties being on board and it being all Big Love up in there, the authorities simply do not tolerate it, and it only takes one fight, one nosy neighbor, one MIL not happy with the situation to mess everything up.

The above was from http://dictatorprincess.wordpress.com/some-thoughts-on-the-legal-aspects-of-polygamy-in-switzerland-for-foreigners

Nenhum Direito para esposas Sharia

Dagestani mulheres que entram em casamentos poligâmicos o risco de perder tudo – mesmo seus filhos – quando seus pneus marido delas.

Por Polina Sanayeva em Makhachkala

Madina pensou que ela havia se casado bem. O educado e mundano mulher Dagestani ficou emocionado com o marido - um homem rico com uma grande casa - e não pensei em nada quando ele lhe pediu para casar com ele em uma mesquita, em vez de no cartório local. O último foi "tudo só lixo, de papel ", ele disse. Então Madina desistiu do seu emprego, era uma dona de casa por três anos e tentou tudo para se ser idéia do marido de uma esposa muçulmana.

Mas o marido, aparentemente, tinha outras idéias. Sua preferência para um casamento mesquita aparentemente originado a partir de uma intenção de tomar uma segunda esposa - que é permitido pela lei islâmica.

"Eu slaved para a família, para colocá-lo sem rodeios. Mas meu marido decidiu se casar novamente. Eu não estava preparado para essa sucessão de eventos e eu disse isso a ele. Então ele me mostrou a porta. E ninguém me apoiaram. Fui morar na casa da minha avó. Algum tempo depois, meu ex-marido pegou minha filha para longe de mim,Disse ela.

A batalha judicial pela custódia de sua filha ainda está em curso, embora Madina diz que ela não tem mais dinheiro nem força para contestar. Seu marido subornou o juiz e apresentaram documentos falsos, alegando que ela havia tratado a menina mal, Ela afirma. A criança vive agora com a nova esposa do seu ex-marido e Madina, idade só 32, diz que ela não tem energia para começar uma nova vida.

Madina é uma das centenas de mulheres a sofrer como resultado de uma tendência crescente na Daguestão - homens tirando partido do seu estatuto de muçulmanos para tomar uma segunda esposa ou mesmo terceira, mesmo que a poligamia é proibida nos termos da legislação russa. Como resultado, essas "mulheres Sharia" têm poucos direitos na República laica.

Até recentemente, apenas homens mais ricos do Daguestão, com status social alto tomou segundas esposas, como era o pensamento de que "poderia permitir-se" a fazê-lo a partir de uma perspectiva económica e de vista ético. Contudo, muitos outros homens também têm optado por ignorar o escritório de registro oficial e se casar de acordo com a lei islâmica, e esta prática se espalhou. Apesar de mais otimista figuras religiosas link deste fenômeno do crescimento dos muçulmanos autoconsciência entre daguestaneses, sociólogos, psicólogos e também representantes do Islã estão escolhendo para vê-la como o resultado de um declínio na moralidade.

Enquanto os imãs nas mesquitas na capital do Daguestão Makhachkala dizer que quase todos os casais que se casam com não fazê-lo antes ou após o seu registo oficial, há outros que vão ao cartório apenas sob a pressão de suas famílias, como é mais importante para eles que seu casamento é abençoado por Deus. Como resultado, Alguns acreditam que um casamento Sharia é a única forma de legalizar as relações necessárias matrimonial.

Mas em muitos casos, o processo de tomada de novas esposas é apenas indirectamente relacionados com a religião.

"Modern Daguestão cidadãos que vêm para o Islã, por tradição, são chamados de "muçulmanos de etnia",", Disse um jovem que se descreve como um fundamentalista. "Eles se permitem ser muçulmanos apenas quando é conveniente para eles. Por exemplo, que bebem e fumam muito facilmente, apesar das proibições que estão claramente definidos no Alcorão. Também é conveniente para eles a tomar uma segunda esposa e fazê-lo, dizendo que sua religião permite isso. "

Muitas mulheres jovens religiosos prontamente aceita ser segundas esposas Sharia, apesar do seu estatuto de pobre em comparação com uma mulher oficialmente registadas em primeiro lugar. Os maridos tendem a tratar a sua esposa em segundo lugar com menos respeito do que a primeira, e os sindicatos são muitas vezes mantidas em segredo de parentes do marido e sua família em primeiro lugar.

Irina Rudakova, psicólogo-chefe do centro de crise do Genesis para as mulheres, que tem vindo a trabalhar em Makhachkala por cinco anos, dito, "No momento, a chance de tomar uma segunda esposa para um homem é um conveniente, socialmente aceitável de forma legalizada relações, which are more properly categorised as extramarital.

"O problema é que para as mulheres que se casam neste caminho, não muda nada em suas relações com o homem depois que eles são formalmente casados. Eles permanecem em uma posição ilegal ou semi-legal, que não lhes dá mais estabilidade e protecção social. E se o casamento se desfaz – normalmente por iniciativa do marido e sua família – a mulher não tem chance de defender seus direitos. De qualquer maneira, é inútil apelar para o Estado ".

Contudo, muitos especialistas concordam que o desconforto psicológico, social e violação dos direitos do casamento não é nada em comparação com o que as mulheres têm de suportar quando seus maridos muçulmanos literalmente jogá-los na rua.

"Eu sou a favor da poliandria – quando uma mulher se casa com mais de um homem – e estou feliz com a Constituição russa, com a sua declaração de igualdade de direitos entre homens e mulheres. Mas esses casamentos local 'Sharia' é um grande engano dos homens,"O publicitário disse Svetlana Anokhina.

"Mas ignorar suas obrigações. Se um marido Sharia fica doente de sua esposa, joga-la fora, e este ainda é considerada uma vergonha para a mulher - como se fosse sua culpa! É como algo saído da Idade Média. "

Amina ainda era estudante quando se casou com um homem mais velho do que ela. Ela diz que decidiu tornar-se uma segunda esposa, principalmente por causa do fator chamado econômica - o marido era rico - e fê-lo contra a vontade dos pais. Amina viveu separada de seu marido, em um apartamento registrado em seu nome, e não funcionou, em parte porque ela havia dado à luz uma menina, e em parte porque a riqueza de seu marido tornou desnecessário. Mas em pouco tempo o marido tinha suavemente, mas insistentemente forçou para fora do apartamento, e, em seguida, rompeu relações com ela. "Ele se cansou da pressão de sua família que nunca me aceitou como sua legítima esposa,Disse ela.

Incapaz de retornar à casa dos pais, Amina e sua filha morava com um amigo para seis meses, enquanto ela olhava para o trabalho. Ela agora trabalha como pintor de casas e aluga um apartamento pequeno. Apenas 25 anos de idade, Amina tem o ar de quem já é usada para sobreviver as adversidades.

A falta de qualquer mecanismo legal para regular as relações dentro de uma família islâmica também pode causar problemas para as mulheres primeiro, bem como para o segundo. Mulheres em casamentos Sharia geralmente gastam muitos anos de trabalho não, e viver uma vida fechada-off. Portanto, se o marido retira o seu cuidado de sua, ela se sente totalmente impotente. Sem direitos, ela não pode se aproximar do estado para ajudar na tomada de marido respeitar as suas obrigações, e um advogado só pode aconselhar que a mulher islâmica é, na verdade uma senhora, aos olhos da lei.

A Daguestão código jurídico contém disposições para uma mulher Sharia para reivindicar bens que foram adquiridos em conjunto com o marido. Mas, na prática, essas mulheres não têm sido capaz de fazê-lo em tribunal, e os advogados não dar a esses casos, obviamente, difícil - muitas condições precisam ser observadas, e há muitos factores que trabalham contra eles.

Isso contraria os princípios da lei islâmica, o que dá uma esposa mais direitos do que o seu marido em um casamento, e da legislação do Estado laico, que enfatiza a igualdade dos sexos.

"Os homens que tomam a sério suas obrigações não se casar com uma segunda esposa, muitas vezes, e eles tratam os seus primeiro casamento muito a sério,"Especialista em lei islâmica, disse Idris Magomedov. "Em um casamento real Sharia, toda a responsabilidade para a mulher, para a família e os filhos, encontra-se totalmente com o homem. Sua obrigação não é apenas fornecer inteiramente por sua esposa financeiramente, mas para ter certeza de que sua esposa está saudável e feliz. "

E na verdade, algumas Daguestão mulheres nunca foram mais felizes do que dentro de um casamento Sharia. Aishat costumava ser chamado de Alyona antes de ser persuadido por seu marido se converter ao Islã. A mulher do russo agora é um muçulmano, foi casado por oito anos, e tem três filhos. Ela usa um lenço na cabeça e vestidos longos, como é bom, com apenas o rosto e os pulsos visível. "Eu ganhei a paz ea fé. Agora eu tenho muitos amigos. Eu acredito que todos eles são minha família muçulmana novo,Disse ela.

Magomedov, que fez um estudo científico sobre a questão da poligamia em Daguestão, disse que muitos homens religiosos Dagestani casar porque estão descontentes com a primeira mulher que não deseja aderir aos princípios religiosos - por exemplo, vestindo roupas islâmicas, orar cinco vezes por dia e observar jejuns. Eles se casam com mulheres que compartilham suas crenças totalmente.

De acordo com o cientista político Ruslan Kurbanov, "Eu vejo uma solução para a criação de um tribunal da Sharia. Em uma sociedade secular, também é possível, e já existe um precedente. Por exemplo, em [da província canadense] de Ontário [esse tribunal] já existe há muito tempo e com a permissão das autoridades.

"A maioria das pessoas que tão facilmente se casar com uma segunda esposa fazer isso de uma ignorância do Islão. A base do requisito previsto no Alcorão é justo e igual tratamento de mulheres por seus maridos. "