“Why are men debating our vaginas?”
That’s the question Lucinda Evans, activist, director of Philisa Abafazi Bethu Women Centre and founder of One Billion Rising, has on the proposal to recognise polyandry, which will allow South African women to be married to more than one man concurrently.
In SA only polygamy is currently recognised, which means men can have more than one wife. Earlier this month, the department of home affairs gazetted a new green paper for the Marriage Act, which includes the proposal to recognise polyandry.
The proposal has sparked fierce debates in parliament and on social media.
Evans questioned why men were making “fundamental decisions” for women in SA.
“Do not debate the vagina. Debate the policy as it is applied to men. Men in this country have everything going for them. We just want equality. Why is it not a straightforward thing that an MP would cite religion and culture when it’s acceptable for a man to have multiple women? What happened to equality for women in this country?”
According to the Bible, which we believe in, polyandry is considered a sexual immorality, like the marriage between people of the same sex, and we shall by no means bless such relationship as a marriage
— South African National Christian Forum president Bishop Marothi Mashashane.
Evans said the law should be applied equally. “What happens in the bedroom is between individuals. No-one in polygamy questions what happens in the bedroom when women end up having HIV. Women can’t get HIV on their own. We don’t hear about that. But what is cited in 2021 by these men MPs is the DNA of a child. Whose child is going to be? That is none of their business. The business of the day is that the law must be applied equally,” Evans said.
Evans was referring to comments made by Al Jama-ah party leader Ganief Hendricks during a hybrid plenary sitting of parliament on Tuesday when he said he was concerned polyandrous marriages would confuse children. “You can imagine when a child is born more DNA tests will be needed to discover who the father is,” he said.
DA chief whip Natasha Mazzone, who slammed Hendricks for his comments during the session, said he had raised his objections in an inappropriate forum as the debate was on DNA testing for rape survivors.
“How can a man stand up in the year 2021, when we as women fight gender-based violence, fight for equality of education, fight for sanitary wear, fight for the right of the girl child, fight for basic gender equality, and say that the very notion of this bill is madness. Then he should feel the same about polygamy,” she said.
African Christian Democratic Party leader Kenneth Meshoe told a local news channel that there would be conflict if a woman was “shared” by three men and they all wanted her on the same night. The party said it would oppose the bill and said no African cultures practised polyandry.
“Will the proposal strengthen or undermine family relations? Will this not cause intrafamily violence? Try being the ‘second’ or ‘third’ husband,” it tweeted.
South African National Christian Forum president Bishop Marothi Mashashane said the proposal was “a disgrace and mockery to both our religion and our African cultures”.
“According to the Bible, which we believe in, polyandry is considered a sexual immorality, like the marriage between people of the same sex, and we shall by no means bless such relationship as a marriage.” he said.
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