Should Polygamy Be Legalized?

In today’s developing world, it is common for people to desire more than one spouse. It is difficult to commit to just one person; therefore the divorce rate is increasing every day. Polygamy is when a person marries more than one spouse. Polygyny applies to a man having multiple wives and polyandry is when a woman has more than one husband at a time. In most cases it is the men who have multiple spouses rather than women. The question remains whether this should be legalized or not. Having more than one spouse should be illegal because marriage means committing to one person alone, it would affect the family financially and it would be considered morally wrong to the whole society.

Having more than one spouse should be illegal because marriage means committing to one person alone. In marrying more than one spouse it remains ambiguous as towards whom the man’s loyalty lies. It is not possible for a husband to treat all his wives equally in terms of respect, passion and devotion. Marriage means the union of only one man and one woman; therefore the true purpose and meaning of marriage is ignored when a person marries multiple spouses. Marriage is considered sacred to the mass population; therefore it is important that it is treated with respect and honor. Some religions allow men to have more than one wife. For example, in Islam a man can marry up to four wives as long as the first wife is aware of it and grants him permission to do so. The wives should be treated equally at all times. This usually creates conflict as it is impracticable for the man to care and treat all of his wives equally.

Having more than one spouse should be illegal because it would affect the whole family financially. Financial decisions between the multiple spouses would cause conflict in the family household. After taking on multiple wives, the husband may not be capable of supporting all the spouses financially, and in most cases one of the spouses may be treated inferior to the