While

polygamous Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is ...

marriages Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

are not legally recognized under the

civil marriage A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. Such a marriage may be performed by a religion, religious body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely secular. History Every country maintai ...

laws of

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

, a bill was successfully passed in 2003, based on the model in South Africa, which recognizes polygamous unions under customary law; affording a generous amount of benefits to polygamous unions, ranging from inheritance rights to child custody. It has been estimated that nearly one in seven women in Namibia live in polygamous relationships, which has resulted in large numbers of unmarried men. Since May 2009, a debate concerning legalizing civil polygamous marriages has been ongoing throughout the parliament in Namibia. The bill has faced both praise and fierce opposition. There have also been past attempts to outlaw polygamous marriages (including under customary law), which have received about an equal reaction. A bill that would have provided pension benefits to the spouses of a deceased polygamous president was voted down in 2004.Polygamy
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polygamy In Namibia Polygamy in Africa

Society of Namibia