The practice of

polygamy 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 ...

has had a long history in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

, which officially decriminalized the practice in 1998, being the only

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

n country to do so. Polygamous marriages are not recognized under the law, but

bigamy In cultures where monogamy is mandated, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons. I ...

is not a crime. In practice, polygamy is common in Kazakhstan, and is often seen as a sign of a man's social prestige.

Polygamous marriage

While currently illegal, there have been numerous proposals in the recent years to legislate polygamous marriage in the country; the most recent attempt was in mid-2008. A similar bill was introduced in 2007, though was swiftly killed in the parliament. In February 2011, presidential candidate Amatay Asilbek stated that legalizing polygamy was one of his campaign positions. Many proponents of the legislation of polygamous civil marriage in Kazakhstan have argued that legalizing polygamous marriage would help balance out the uneven population, while others have cited the

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...

as an argument in favor of such legislation, which permits men to marry up to four wives; according that he treats them equally and can financially look after them. Opponents argued that the practice was dangerous to society, while other groups viewed the legislation as discrimination against women, since it would not allow for polyandrous marriages, which sparked a social debate over a possible "common ground" resolution.

Public opinion

A poll conducted in 2004 found that some 40% of Kazakh men supported the legislation of polygamy in Kazakhstan, while only 22% of women supported the idea, though with some reservations.

References

{{Polygamous marriage Society of Kazakhstan