By Spy Uganda
South Africa’s government has faced a huge resistance from pan Africanists following a proposal for polyandry to be legally recognised as a form of marriage in the country.
Polyandry is defined as a form of polygamy in which a woman has more than one husband while polygyny is a form of polygamy in which a man has more than one wife.
In South Africa, only polygyny is currently recognised where polygamous men can have many wives.
In a push to promote equality, the Department of Home Affairs recently published a landmark policy document calling for polyandry to be legally recognised as a form of marriage.
The department’s Green Paper on Marriages states that the current marriage act is discriminatory and does not promote equality.
However, some Pan Africanists like Professor Collis Machoko says that allowing polyandry will create a generation of uncontrollable women.
“African societies are not ready for true equality. We don’t know what to do with women we cannot control,” the academician underpinned. Backing Machoko’s sentiments is entrepreneur and media personality Musa Mseleku, who is himself married to four wives. According to him, doing that will mean that the woman takes on the roles of the man, something unheard of in Africa.
“This will destroy African culture. What about the children of those people? How will they know their identity?” He questioned. He also argues that there will be confusion on whether the woman will pay the bride price for all the men she marries, and if they will add her surname to theirs.
