Civil law and polygamy in Namibia
editPolygamy is the practice of having two or more wives or (less usually) husbands at the same time (Ruppel 2008:84). The more popularly applied practice of polygamy is polygyny, the practice of having plural husbands, compared to polyandry, having plural husbands. Polygamy was first permitted to rulers as a sign of wealth and prosperity. Many rulers in Africa took to it as it was tradition and part of their culture. Plural wives are customary amongst many ethnic groups in Namibia. “Namibia should address the question of polygamy. It is further said that even countries where there were religious sanctions for such marriages, efforts were being made to discourage them” (Ruppel 2008:85). This is the controversy of polygamy within the community. Although certain people accept it, others want polygamy to be abolished. And in their defence they state that polygamy may result in the violation of women’s rights. Polygamy is not on par with civil marriage in terms of legal recognition by the state. Only civil marriages are recorded in the marriage register of the Department of Civic Affairs and are accorded marriage certificates, meaning that women in such marriages are not protected by law. A good suggestion to rectify this situation would be for spouses, whether married under polygyny or civil rites, to be accorded equal rights in terms of marriage law because both are merely simple forms of marriage. Discrimination against one form of marriage and recognition of the other will only create irreconcilable conflicts and legal confusion. In conclusion, the state should recognize customary laws and marriages (polygamy) as this is the culture of “our people” and not try to fight our tradition and heritage as this will bring chaos. Victor Mabuku (talk) 11:09, 14 October 2010 (UTC)