The Problems with polygamous families: a case study based on Kinniya Division

Abstract

There have been many studies and research papers on the topic of polygamy worldwide. Yet many researchers do find all the negative aspects of polygamy.Although many countries legally permit polygamy, there is a ban on it in some countries. Additionally Srilankan Muslim personal law is also permitting polygamy for Islamic men with certain rules and regulations. The purpose of this study is to identify the problems posed by polygamy in Muslim families and identify them. This research has been done based on the data obtained from an interview of thirty wives from polygamous family. This study is a qualitatively organized and the data obtained for the study have been coded. Literary researches have been used as a secondary data collection. The findings revealed the polygamy marriages in Muslim families have caused huge different types of issues such as relationship breakdown, domestic violence, neglect, discrimination, Communication Problems, Inferiority Complex, Animosity between wives, anxiety, relationship disagreements and Low Social participation have been identified. The first wives are more depressed than the second wives. Problems are found in more polygamous families. At the same time those are less in other polygamous families. Therefor this research will be helpful for future researches and further suggestions have been made to reduce the problems.