Polygyny and spousal violence in India: Findings from the 2019 – 2021 national family health survey

Abstract

Polygyny results in a variety of physical, sexual, and psychological consequences for women which has an impact on gender relations such as the subordination of women, unequal treatment of spouses, neglect of children, rivaling step-children, and inheritance issues among children/spouses. This study aims to explore the association between polygyny and spousal violence in India using the data from the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey-5 of India in 2019 – 2021, which provides information on both polygyny and spousal violence. To understand the effect of polygyny on spousal violence, multivariate logistic regressions were used to obtain unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios by controlling a number of explanatory factors. The results reveal that women in polygynous unions experience more spousal violence compared with those in monogamous unions. The results indicate that, since the law does not permit men to be married to more than one wife simultaneously, this form of marriage should be discouraged by strictly enforcing it to protect women from marital violence in polygynous unions. The analysis contributes to the body of the literature on the association between polygynous marriage and spousal violence in the Indian context.