Abstract
The traditional practice of polygyny, whereby only a man is allowed to marry more than one wife in a customary marriage, has long been perceived to be an offender of women's rights. Recent family law reforms on the African continent show that the focus has been on promoting and protecting the rights of women as defined in international human rights law, as well as on respecting the practice of polygyny. These legislative reforms in jurisdictions such as Kenya, Mozambique and South Africa show that the approach to regulating polygyny has been either to legalise, abolish, or regulate the practice. In view of the focus in these reforms on both women's rights and respect for the practice of polygyny, this paper examines the different approaches of the selected countries to regulating the practice. In particular, this paper investigates how these countries are striking a balance between polygyny and the protection of women's rights. It will also highlight the difficulties that law reformers face in regulating the practice in such a way as to protect women's rights, as well as the gaps in the law reforms that need to be addressed.
 
 
Highlights
Polygyny is a traditional practice whereby only a man is allowed to marry more than one spouse.[1]
Polygyny is perceived to be rooted in violations of gender and women's rights, which are protected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (African Women's Protocol), and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).[7]
This paper has explored the different approaches taken by three African countries to advancing the rights of women in the context of polygynous customary marriages
Summary
Polygyny is a traditional practice whereby only a man is allowed to marry more than one spouse.[1]. See art 6 of the Protocol of the African Charter on Human and People's Rights on the Rights of Women in comments of the international human rights monitoring bodies, lead to a call for the regulation or abolition of polygyny.[8]. As the reforms focus on women's rights while simultaneously respecting the practice of polygyny, this paper examines the different approaches of these countries in regulating the practice. It examines how these countries are attempting to strike a balance between polygyny and the protection of women's rights. The fourth section will explore the manner in which selected African countries have legally approached the issue of polygyny. The last part concludes the discussion by observing that regardless of whether countries legalise, abolish or regulate polygyny, the essence of polygyny in Africa is not going to change
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