Posted on 05/06/2014 2:16:10 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Americans are accustomed to a marriage debate between traditionalists and egalitarians. The traditionalists say marriage is the union of a man and a woman. The egalitarians say all marriages, gay or straight, should be treated the same. The egalitarians also ground their view in pluralism, arguing that the law should respect different ways of life.
In other parts of the world, however, these ideas arent always at odds. Traditionalism, equality, and pluralism sometimes converge. But they dont converge in the way Americans might expect. What they converge on is polygamy.
Thats what is now happening in Kenya. Last week President Uhuru Kenyatta signed into law the Marriage Act 2014, which legalizes simultaneous marriages. According to Kenyas presidential news agency, the new law stipulates that "marriage is the voluntary union of a man and a woman whether in a monogamous or polygamous union.
Traditionalists are delighted with the new law. As Agence France-Presse explains, polygamy is common among traditional communities in Kenya, as well as in the country's Muslim community, which accounts for up to a fifth of the population. In approving the legislation, lawmakers also quoted the Bible, citing King Solomons marriages.
Many egalitarians also favored the bill. "We are happy with the law because finally all marriages are being treated equally," the director of Kenyas Federation of Women Lawyers told CNN. "All marriages will be issued with marriage certificates, including customary marriages. Before this, customary marriages were treated as inferior with no marriage certificates. This opened up suffering for the women because they could not legally prove they were married to a particular man. "
Other women objected, particularly because the law doesnt require a man to notify his first wife when acquiring a second. Some Christian leaders also opposed the bill. But Christian lawmakers helped pass it....
(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...
From the pictures I’ve seen, why would a guy want one Kenyan woman, let alone two?
What do you get when you cross a drunken bigamist with a Communist slut?
You’re going to tell them you won’t marry them?
I’ll send you a few bucks for your funeral.
Eight years of hell in America
I expect so. In some neighborhoods it’s already here.
There are lovely women in every country.
Coming to your neighborhood?
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