Polygamous unions Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of 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 married ...

are legally recognized in

the Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

and have been said to be very prevalent. They are frequently considered by the older generations of Gambian men as an indicator of prosperity.AFROL Gender Profiles: The Gambia
Archived 28 March 2008 In 1795, Mungo Park observed that "every man of free condition has a plurality of wives". He noted that it is necessary for each wife to be accommodated in their own hut.

Adama Barrow Adama Barrow ( ff, 𞤀𞥄𞤣𞤢𞤥𞤢 𞤄𞤢𞥄𞤪𞤮, Aadama Baaro, born 15 February 1965) is a Gambian politician and real estate developer who has served as President of the Gambia since 2017. Born in Mankamang Kunda, a village ...

, the current president of the Gambia, has two wives. His predecessor, Yahya Jammeh, had two wives at one point in time, but divorced his third wife under pressure from his second wife (whom he had married after divorcing his first wife).

References

{{Polygamous marriage Society of the Gambia Gambia