This archive report was first published on 27 November 2019.
The poverty connection in polygamy in Kenya ¶
Published on November 27, 2019
Kenya is one of the countries where polygamy is a common practice, with almost 1.5 million people in a polygamous marriage, according to the Kenya Population and Housing Census. However, this practice often leads to poverty and exploitation of women and children.
For Joyce, a 58-year-old Kenyan housewife, polygamy meant sharing her home and husband with a woman almost half her age. She had to put up with the situation, as she was completely dependent on her husband and had no education or skills.
"I was completely dependent on him. There was no choice but to put up and shut up," Joyce said, recalling the situation.
However, things changed after the new wife moved in. Joyce's husband stopped caring for her and their children, and they had to struggle to make ends meet. She was forced to marry off her daughters before they turned 18, and her sons dropped out of school to work as child farm labourers.
Women's rights groups say that polygamy is the biggest contributor to poverty in Kenya, as most men who get into it cannot afford it. The women and children suffer the most, with many being evicted after the new wife arrives or having to share limited resources.
According to the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, polygamy should be discouraged and outlawed because it is unequal and has negative emotional and financial impacts on women and children.
However, men have taken multiple wives for centuries, citing the need to have a large family to help with farm labour and to ensure offspring if children die or one wife is infertile. Despite growing modernity and awareness of women's rights, polygamy remains legal in most African nations and is prevalent across society.
But for polygamy to work, wives must buy into the practice and the husband should have enough income to look after all of them and their children. Yet this is not always the case, and women and children are often left vulnerable to exploitation.
