@Evo, thank you for your input. I would like to learn more about your country and how polygamy is lived there today.
Are you saying that polygamy worked in you county until western 'christianity' changed it?[/QUOTE]
In my country there are many tribes and in most of these tribes polygamy was/is normal. That was the life's style.
When the Belgian came and brought Christianity, they said polygamy was not good. They were catholics, so not really forcing them to have only one.
But when the revival started, those people were adamant.
Anyone wanting to be baptized had to give up on all the wives except the 1st.
That's mainly in major towns and cities.
In villages people still openly practice polygamy.
If a woman is the second or nth and goes to church, the pastor will tell her she's not married. She needs to break up and pray for the man of her life.
If the man is a polygamist, the pastor tells the man to break up with all the wives exceptthe 1st.
Some people follow that.
people having money: president, rulers of the country, politicians, businesses man...always have more than one wife openly.
The remaining people living in cities have girl friends.
I would say 95% of men if they don't have more than one wife have had girl friends while married.
Nowadays life is hard for many here and fathers are failing to provide for their children, so young girls easily go into relationship with married men, most of the time for money.
The other case is in Africa at 25- 30 you have to be married or engaged. Past that age it's difficult to find a free man willing to marry a woman of +30
Those women over 30 wait for that free man to come then end up being with married men without those men marrying them.
Few men have got the guts to take more wives, more wives means more responsibilities more problems.
One wife and many girl friends. You're still the good guy at church, no one knows so no one judges you and you enjoy many women.
These women don't deserve happiness? ? Are the wives at home of more values or more women than these single women that don't deserve to be married??
Now even the law is kind of against it, although no body follows that.
No one gets arrested for paying the dowry of many women (having many wives )
One more thing, years back women were not really educated or they were but were still good wives or were completely dependent on the husband.
So they couldn't leave a husband just because he's got another wife or girlfriends.
And the family would reject a woman who divorces.
Now all the women are educated and work.
They think they are equal to men.
They don't accept or tolerate a husband marrying another one.
If they hear the husband has a girlfriend eish big trouble.
Sometimes they attack the girl.
Divorce is not that okay but it's not acceptable.
Women are independent. They can supply for themselves
Because of all this men who are not rich are scared to have many.
Here being rich it's being powerful sometimes being above the law