Times have changed and women are no longer accepting all the aspects of culture that have been practiced in the past, instead they are paving a way for themselves to exist authentically too.
Polyandry is a practice that has gained momentum over the years, with many women openly modelling it out for other women such as traditional healer Gogo Skhotheni amongst many others.
However, according to culture – unlike polygamy – polyandry is difficult to sustain as they are debates about whose surname will the woman take and whose household would be lifted up amongst her husbands.
Though the practice challenges cultural norms, legally it has also been rejected.
In 2022, the department of home affairs (DHA) submitted the Draft Marriage Bill for public comment looking at the amendments to some marriage laws – including polyandry.
It stated that following “ministerial dialogues held in 2019, calls by gender activists argued for the introduction of polyandry, the DHA is tabling this policy for consideration. In their view, this proposal was consistent with the principles of equality, protection of women’s rights and gender emancipation”.
The department said in the White Paper on Marriages in South Africa of 2022 that there was no constitutional or legal basis to rejecting polyandry, however it stated that it should not be included in the marriage policy of statute.
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Some of the reasons for rejection included:
• Polyandry being contrary to the dominant patriarchal culture which accepts or tolerates men who have multiple partners;
• Polyandry being contrary to traditional and religious practices;
• Polyandry having the potential to negatively affect the family structure.
• Difficulties associated with proving paternity for children who will be born in a polyandrous relationship.
This week on Makoti Unveiled, we speak to African spiritual adviser Siyabonga Mkhize to give us a better understanding of how – if it were not rejected – would polyandry work in an African cultural perspective:
“What we don’t discuss with polyandry is how do we make the marriage spiritually sound so that there is no conflict with the surname of the children,” Mkhize says.
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He adds that: “Evolution in the way that we live will always be there and you can practice African spirituality in a way that the practice evolves with the times.”
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