Polygamy raises the most intractable of conflicts – that between women’s right to equality in marriage and the rights to freedom of religion and culture. Polygyny means a marriage system under which a man may be simultaneously married to several women. Under state laws in many countries, men in specific religions or ethnic groups are permitted to practice polygyny. Polygyny is just one form of polygamy, the other being polyandry – multiple husbands for one woman. Although anthropologists sometimes list remote areas of the world where polyandry is practiced, no state law permits it.
Each document has its own box. The box contains, on the top bold line, the name of the document. This is followed by the legal citation (not in bold). Under these lines, the box contains one or more sources for opening the document. In the left-hand column (“HTML”or “PDF”), the reader can access the official document copy, hosted on RossRights. This permits rapid access to the document. In the right-hand column (“External Link”), the reader can access the same document on an official website. This link will often take more time to appear than the PDF or HTML copy, but should be used for official legal citations.Asterisks accompany links where additional steps to reach the document are required.
For all United Nations Treaties, the source marked "Original" contains the UN General Assembly Resolution (G.A. res.) adopting the relevant treaty, which is found in the "Annex" following the Resolution. The source marked "UN High Comm'r for Human Rights" contains the relevant treaty, without the G.A. res.
Key:
Map(s) Available
Photo(s) Available
|
98 U.S. 145 (1878). |
||
| Supreme Court of the United States | HTML | External Link |
Uganda Ass'n of Women Lawyers v. Attorney General, Const. Pet. No. 2/03, (10 Mar 2004). |
||
| Constitutional Court of Uganda | External Link | |
Uganda is located in Eastern Africa, west of Kenya.
*Population estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected.
Law and Advocacy for Women in Uganda (LAW-U) v. Attorney General, Const. Pets. Nos. 13/05 & 05/06, [2007] UGCC 1 (5 April 2007). |
||
| Constitutional Court of Uganda | HTML | External Link |
Susan Deller Ross, Polygyny as a Violation of Women's Right to Equality in Marriage: An Historical, Comparative and International Human Rights Overview, 24 Delhi L. Rev. 22 (2002). |
||
| RossRights | ||
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, G.A. res. 2200A (XXI), 21 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 16) at 52, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966), 999 U.N.T.S. 171, entered into force Mar. 23, 1976. |
||
| Original | External Link | |
| UN High Comm'r for Human Rights | External Link | |
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, G.A. res. 34/180, 34 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 46) at 193, U.N. Doc. A/34/46, entered into force Sept. 3, 1981. |
||
| Original | PDF* | External Link* |
| UN High Comm'r for Human Rights | External Link | |
*Scroll to the bottom of the first page, document begins in right column.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, G.A. res. 2200A (XXI), 21 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 16) at 52, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966), 999 U.N.T.S. 171, entered into force Mar. 23, 1976. |
||
| Original | External Link* | |
| UN High Comm'r for Human Rights | External Link | |
*Scroll to and click on 2200(XXI).
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, General Recommendation 21, Equality in marriage and family relations (Thirteenth session, 1992), U.N. Doc. A/49/38 at 1 (1994), reprinted in Compilation of General Comments and General Recommendations Adopted by Human Rights Treaty Bodies, U.N. Doc. HRI/GEN/1/Rev.6 at 250 (2003). |
||
| United Nations | External Link | |
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, General Recommendation 24, Women and Health (Twentieth session, 1999), U.N. Doc. A/49/38 at 1 (1994), reprinted in Compilation of General Comments and General Recommendations Adopted by Human Rights Treaty Bodies, U.N. Doc. HRI/GEN/1/Rev.6 at 250 (2003). |
||
| United Nations | External Link | |
Human Rights Committee, General Comment 28, Equality of rights between men and women (article 3), U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.10 (2000). |
||
| UN High Comm'r for Human Rights | HTML | External Link |
African Charter Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, Adopted by the 2nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union, Maputo, CAB/LEG/66.6 (Sept. 13, 2000); reprinted in 1 Afr. Hum. Rts. L.J. 40, entered into force Nov. 25, 2005. |
||
| African Union | External Link | |
| African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights | HTML | External Link |
Tanzania is located in Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Kenya and Mozambique.
*Population estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected.
Mauritius is an island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar. It was once the only home of the now-extinct dodo bird.
Mauritius is only 2040 km2 (788 mi2).
Bangladesh, formerly known as East Pakistan, is located in Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India.
*Population estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected.
India is located in Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between
Burma and Pakistan.