Which gender practised polygamy

In Israel, there are several news media outlets. Based on the Internet searches that we conducted, it became apparent that there were two main media outlets that published items related to our research. These included Haaretz and Yisrael Hayom — both news outlets which boast a very high readership and that cater to different audiences. Both of these news outsets appear digitally and in print. In addition, it is important to note that these two reflect the spectrum of political positions in Israel — from left leaning to right leaning Korn, It is important to note that as we were investigating the positions voiced by the official government, the items we chose were those that reflected the position of the leading coalition at the time led by then Prime Minister Netanyahu.

The items we chose to discuss are representative of the way the government position was represented. During the last 4years, we conducted four group interviews with 32 women, in polygamous and non-polygamous relationships, asking them about their lives, about their relationships, and about the topics of divorce and polygamy.

The interviews were conducted with 32 women divided into four groups, each group including eight adult women, with an age range chosen to represent different generations — that is, from 21years of age to 60years old.

The women were from both recognized and unrecognized villages in the south of Israel. The research population is, of course, not representative of all Bedouin women; nonetheless, the group interviews gave us important insights derived from the field and from the dynamics that emerged within the groups.

We employed a research assistant who facilitated both the recruitment process by snowball technique see Cohen and Arieli, and the moderating of the groups. The research assistant conducted the interviews in Arabic and Hebrew. She translated the Arabic language segments into Hebrew in the transcription.

Interviews were semi-structured and included questions related to everyday life, gender relations, family, marriage, and divorce. At the start of each session, the interviewees were assured of confidentiality and were asked to sign an informed consent form. Each group interview lasted between and min and was audio-taped and transcribed. In addition to our primary sources, in our analysis, we included secondary sources as well — narrative analysis of 23 personal interviews conducted by Insaf Abu Shareb, a human rights lawyer with years of experience working with women in polygamous relationships.

The age range of the interviewees was between 21 and 70years of age. They were from both recognized and unrecognized villages in the south.

The transcriptions of these interviews were included in a public report submitted to members of the Israeli parliament in Abu-Shareb, This report constituted one of the sources that the Government Report of was based on, and therefore, we decided to include these interviews in our analysis as well.

Analysis of the interview materials was in keeping with feminist narrative research that seeks to uncover previously neglected or misunderstood worlds of experience. We used narrative analysis to process the material.

In narrative analysis, scholars typically direct their research to working with narrative and on narrative Bamberg, In working first with narrative, knowledge is constructed in a bottom-up direction. Opinions regarding the practice of polygamy within practicing cultures frequently vary within societies and families, across age groups, and gender, even among and within those who practice it Al-Krenawi and Slonim-Nevo, Furthermore, perspectives of polygamy have been documented as varying even among the respondents themselves Al-Krenawi and Slonim-Nevo, ; Shepard, Moreover, research indicates significant prevalence of mental health issues in polygamous women compared to monogamous women, including higher prevalence of low self-esteem, somatization, depression, anxiety, and psychiatric disorder in women involved in polygamous marital relationships Al-Krenawi and Slonim-Nevo, ; Shepard, While some studies suggest better treatment toward first wives and their children, there is evidence among the Bedouin community that suggests that even first wives and their children are often neglected by their husband, since the first marriage is often dictated by tribal custom, while the second might be a product of choice among the partners Al-Krenawi and Graham ; Al-Krenawi and Slonim-Nevo, ; Aburabia, The second wives are also a victim to this practice since their rights are fewer than women in monogamous marriages Aburabia, , and apparently, they suffer from similar mental health problems.

In fact, research indicates higher levels of potency and lower levels of wife abuse among monogamous as compared to both first and second polygamous wives Al-Krenawi and Lev-Wiesel, Furthermore, women in societies in which polygamy is prevalent might suffer from anxiety even when they are not personally involved in a polygamous marriage, since the decision of husband to take a second wife is always present Al-Krenawi and Lev-Wiesel, ; Abu-Shareb, In many cases, the uncertainty regarding their sense of self is related to the fact that, for most women, exiting a polygamous marriage within the traditional Bedouin community is not a realistic option, given both the extremely negative social implications of divorce and the lack of support given to such women by their families and communities Abu-Shareb, ; Harel-Shalev et al.

Given the centrality of community and family in a coherent sense of self in Bedouin society, threats to this sense of self can have significant consequences, particularly for women Aburabia, a.

Many Bedouin women in polygamous marriages experience existential insecurity: They have reported a general feeling of helplessness, particularly given their lack of trust in their community and the ability or desire of the state to provide assistance.

This lack of trust is enhanced by their reality of dire poverty and their limited access to sources of support and funding. These women often shoulder the burden of providing for their families, while being regularly abused by their husbands, both emotionally and physically, in some cases, even being prevented from access to basic services of healthcare, employment, and education Abu-Shareb, The findings from our narratives correspond well with these observations and emphasize the harsh realities.

We now bring a few examples that exemplify this. It is important to note, that in most cases, the women did not express objections to the custom per se. They emphasize, however, the deep ontological insecurity that surrounds them in this context. Here is an example of a woman with 12 children, in a polygamous marriage, sharing her experiences Abu-Shareb, :. I married when I was 16, and it was fine. Then, after he decided he wants another wife, my life turn to a nightmare.

He went to live with the second wife and rarely came to visit us. A year later he left us completely, no visits, no support, no nothing. All the burden is on my shoulders all the sudden. I feel exhausted. As is evidenced from this narrative, polygamous women experience extreme difficulty and express extreme frustration. In addition, they describe a deep sense of ontological insecurity, uncertainties about their future, and about their self-identity Abu-Shareb, :.

I am married as a second wife. Before that I was married to a relative of my family, a violent man. I married very young. He was violent and unbearable.

I had three kids with him. One day he hit me in front of many people outside the village. People called the police and an ambulance. I was transferred to a secret shelter after the recovery at the hospital. After some years, I met a man who promised to protect me, he was married. I agreed to marry him. He is the father of three of my children.

We were poor, after some time he went back to his first wife and left us. I am poor, I had nowhere to go since my family expelled me, I had to move in with my mother-in-law, I am afraid to go out of the house, since I will probably be killed. We were living with my mother-in-law who receive a small stipend from social security.

I am suffering since I cannot provide for my kids. I turn to legal aid to receive individual support, it was a very long battle, with ups and downs, at the end I got this. And I have some air. I can provide for my children now and make them happy.

I will not stand helpless anymore. The individual stories of the women were difficult and involved elements of fear, violence, poverty, and the sense that there is no one to turn to — doubts in their self-identity and anxiety about their status in their community. Most narratives indicate that when a state stipend is available, it is helpful; however, in most cases, this requires a long and expensive legal struggle. In other cases, state support goes to the husbands. These battles leave the women feeling abandoned Abu-Shareb, :.

Another woman emphasized that even if the husband remains and is not violent, the pain is unbearable Abu-Shareb, :. I am a first wife, he later married two additional wives. I never felt comfortable in this marriage. Even before he married he threatened that he would remarry and it hurt me. After his 2nd marriage I suffered more. When he got married I felt like someone stabbed me in the chest, this pain is always there in particular when I rethink about these humiliating moments.

I cried and even tried to kill myself. There was no reason for his additional marriage but his family encouraged him. We and the other wives are not treated equally … I demanded alimony and I got it from him, after a court verdict. He comes to visit us, but he is missing in the house in our routine.

He is not what he used to be. I feel that I am lacking something; I feel that something is wrong with me. I nevertheless, moved on, with my kids; slowly, I became independent and responsible for my home. As evidenced in this narrative, divorce in the context of Bedouin society is not an easily accessible option. Despite rising rates of divorce partially related to polygamy Aburabia, , being a divorcee continues to be a highly vulnerable status for women — one that often entails severe social and economic hardships that keep some women imprisoned in a highly subordinate relationship with the larger community Harel-Shalev et al.

As some of the interviewees claim during a group interview, we conducted:. Their parents and the extended family do not allow divorced women to go out … It is a black stain of the family. Most women do not get divorced and those who chose to leave polygamous relationships talk about being forced to leave their community and feeling abandoned Abu-Shareb, :. I was in polygamous marriage, a second wife. At first it was relatively fine, but then the violence started. My husband used to hit me all the time, even when I was pregnant ….

I had to run away to a shelter, although it is unacceptable in our society. They took my kids away from me to their father. These women often worry about their status in their community and their self-identity — they would rather not leave their community but at the same time they worry about their lives. Others rejecting the idea altogether. All were very skeptical that the state could intervene and make their situation better.

However, in our research, the narratives by the interviewees, both among first wives and second wives in polygamous marriages, reflect several recurring themes. Overall, women in polygamous marriage are often presumably married but they need to take the burden of providing for their families by themselves, and they are regularly abused both emotionally and physically, and often are even prevented from gaining basic services of healthcare, employment, and education.

Their ontological insecurity is evident and striking they feel humiliated and often experience both emotional pain and physical pain. Many shared that they felt unaccepted by the community — they lost their status in their tribe. Nevertheless, in this deep sense of helplessness and ontological insecurity, many of them shared their efforts to overcome the obstacles.

In Israel, a state founded within the geopolitical context of widespread opposition and resistance, issues of physical security have always been central to government policy Barak and Sheffer, Thus, over the years, Israel has sought not merely to guarantee its physical survival, but also to gain acceptance and recognition of its identity as a Jewish state and hence of the authority of its political institutions to provide the Jewish people with a concrete representation of their national identity and a secure ontological framework.

On the contrary, the main policy efforts aimed at securing this identity take place within the domestic arena. One of the prominent policy acts of the Israel government in the domestic context was the passing, in , of the Basic Law: Israel as Nation-State of the Jewish People, informally known — and referred to here — as the Nationality Bill.

The Nationality Bill, promoted by Prime Minister Netanyahu, offers a narrative — story with meaning, a story about belonging, and a story about identity.

The Law provoked a great deal of controversy within and beyond the country, although many noted that it merely entrenched in law what was already known Lustig, Seen through the lens of ontological security, however, its purpose becomes clear. To the extent that narratives of ontological security are basically stories that states tell themselves and the international community about their own identity, the narrative promoted by the Nationality Bill tells a story about what Israel is and the conditions necessary for making Israel secure in this identity.

By legislating the identity of the state, the Law can be seen as providing Israelis with a stable and secure framework that ensures the continuity and integrity of their national identity by explicitly defining who belongs and making clear the hierarchies of membership. Within this story, the non-Jewish, Arab minority communities have a tenuous and, some may say, insecure role. Moreover, and most significantly for this article, the polygamy campaign presents gender identity as an explicit and central actor in this narrative.

While gender is always implicitly present in security narratives, analysis of the polygamy campaign through the lens of ontological security exposes the ways gender informs our sense of individual and collective self. As noted above, polygamy is illegal in Israel and constitutes a criminal offense under Israeli law. However, as Aburabia , p. The above notwithstanding, over the years, the legal prohibition against polygamy has not been enforced. By , only a handful of polygamy cases had been brought before the courts, with few convictions Ben Zikri, a.

Similarly, until recently, the issue of polygamy has received scant media, popular, or even academic attention. Until the s, the little attention that was paid to polygamy was almost exclusively in the field of mental health, with numerous studies focusing on the challenges faced by women in polygamous realities.

Other scholars have made the stronger claim that the lack of enforcement derives from the interest of the government in cooperating with conservative patriarchal forces religious and tribal leaders within the Palestinian community Hasan, ; Boulos, The task force met and consulted with academics, mayors of Bedouin localities, Qadis of Sharia courts in Israel, members of Parliament, feminist activists, members of the police force, professionals from various ministries, social workers, and other professionals.

In addition, it conducted visits to various Bedouin localities and institutions. The Final Report published by the task force in July clearly acknowledged that the State had failed to enforce the criminal prohibition on polygamy The Inter-Ministerial Report, ; Boulos, Alongside the need for educational, employment, development, welfare and economic training programs, and measures, the Report also emphasized the need to enhance police and legal enforcement of the law The Inter-Ministerial Report, , pp.

The publication of the Report drew extensive media attention and provoked official and unofficial government statements, including those of the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu Netanyahu, The fight against polygamy thus became part of the national agenda. Polygamy among the Bedouin, and in particular when we talk about a Palestinian woman, is a crazy and dangerous phenomenon that we are obligated to eliminate by any means available. Children who grow up here and who are influenced by Palestinian incitement can eventually be tools in the hands of terror organizations and threaten the demography and our governability the Negev and beyond.

Not only is the despicable polygamy harmful to women and children but it is a real security threat Ben Zikri and Breiner, This quote, from a very high-ranking political leader, illustrates the explicit connection made between terror and polygamy, which is intertwined with the notion of fertility. A similar tone was adopted by member of parliament Bezalel Smotrich, belonging to the far-right party Habayit HaYehudi :.

The above quote links directly to the second theme — modernization — which highlights the belief that Muslim Bedouin women are helpless victims, under threat from their own society and in need of the modernizing influence and power of the State of Israel. Similarly, the Report also relates explicitly to the modernizing influence of Israel on the Bedouin community, linking it to the pitfalls of Bedouin culture:.

The efforts of the government to provide services, to improve governance and the establishment of legal government institutions as is acceptable in Western countries — have promoted modernization processes and integration of the Bedouin community within - Israeli society p.

Thus, while the Report acknowledges that political and economic contexts factor into the reality of polygamy, it also portrays polygamy as an essentially cultural and traditional phenomenon, an inherent component of Bedouin identity, which should be eliminated, but only with the aid of resources and budgets pp.

The modernization trope was picked up by leading members of parliament:. The lack of Hebrew language proficiency was thus linked to the overall weakness and lack of power and the restricted access of the women and their children to higher levels of social and economic achievement. This lack of language proficiency perpetuates the dependence of the women on their husbands, who tend to know the language better and to reinforce the isolation of the women.

Hebrew was presented as the language of the powerful and as a means to achieving modernity and shedding the bonds of tradition. Thus, the implication was that only through shedding these bonds would women be able to fully modernize and escape the subordination of patriarchy, implying that adherence by Bedouin women to traditional norms, to their native language, perpetuates patriarchal subordination, and constitutes in itself an unsafe act.

This kind of logic avoids political questions and presents itself almost as a humanitarian project that expresses feelings of empathy in its drive to help and save polygamous women. Thus, ultimately, the Islamic community is portrayed as constituting a threat both to its own women and children and to Israeli society at large. In the public and political discourse surrounding the Report, the Bedouin community emerges as traditional — even primitive at times — abusive toward its women and children, lawless, and vulnerable to terror-inspiring ideologies and interests and, as such, is viewed as a direct threat to the physical and ontological security of the State.

At the same time, by positioning the fight against polygamy as a component of government policy, the narrative contributes toward the promotion of a notion of Israeli identity as Jewish and Western concepts that are ideologically intertwined , hetero-normative, modern, law abiding, and peace seeking, and as a chapter in the larger ontological security narrative discussed above in the context the Nationality Bill.

The current article focused on the empirical case of the Israeli society but is relevant beyond this specific case, since states uses similar mechanisms of exclusion in order to enhance what they see as ontological security. The focus of this article was the special challenges posed by the practice of polygamy to minority women, focusing on the ways that the state and the women confront the related experiences of trauma and violence associated with this practice.

We demonstrated the advantages of employing the concept of ontological in security to investigate these issues in a nuanced and complex fashion. Special attention was given to the relationship between ontological security and gender and the challenges posed to minority women by these securitized narratives.

Our analysis of the discourse surrounding polygamy in Israel in the context of ontological security is applicable to other empirical cases and reveals three main theoretical insights. Overall, in this article, we propose that notions of ontological security play a meaningful and central role both in the ways states articulate policies related to the protection of women and in the ways women narrate experiences of trauma and violence.

The second addresses what can be inferred from narratives of ontological security regarding the frameworks of belonging as presented by the state and specifically how these narratives often serve as mechanisms of exclusion. The third contributes to our understanding of the central and often defining role of gender and gender relations in state narratives of ontological security. One of the central issues in the discourse surrounding ontological security is the tension between individual and state-centric approaches.

Indeed, the discussion presented above demonstrates that polygamy, for a vast majority of the women involved, constitutes a significant breakdown in their sense of ontological security. Our discussions of the narratives of the women indicated that polygamous women experience a more or less constant sense of alienation, displacement, and rupture, lacking a focus of belonging and the ability to maintain a stable sense of self.

The lives of polygamous women were narrated as violent and humiliating. Moreover, the local community that should provide integrity, certainty, and a sense of belonging failed to consistently provide support to the women and their children.

This practice leads to enormous challenges and often devastating circumstances in which the women are exposed to violence and trauma on a daily basis.

As noted above, the State narrated a three-pronged story of polygamy: As being a source of ontological insecurity because of the ways, it impacted the demographic balance of the population, as being linked to traditional, non-modern modes of behavior and normative values, and as being connected to terrorist ideologies. This divide exemplifies how states employ gendered narratives of ontological in security in a strategic fashion, portraying their policies as a means of protection of women against violence, but in fact motivated by interests related to national identity and security.

Our second contribution focuses on the state. Thus, the perspective of ontological security adds an additional dimension to theoretical discussions of national identity building and to the discussions of state trauma. This theoretical insight was validated by our empirical analysis. Through the narratives of government leaders and the government Report, polygamy is presented as a real and immediate threat to the fundamental components of Israeli identity and hence as a threat to the existence of a stable cognitive environment.

By defining ontological security in these terms, the State enforces the distinction between the majority and the minority — between those who belong naturally and those who threaten the natural bonds of membership. Select personalised content.

Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. When you think of marriage, you most likely think of a union between two partners. However, there are other types of marriages like polygamy.

Polygamy is a type of relationship that typically involves a person marrying more than one partner. Polygamy is the opposite of monogamy , where one person marries one spouse. Polygamy is either illegal or discouraged in most regions.

However, bigamy is. This article discusses the history of polygamy, the types of polygamy, and how people practice it. It also discusses the impact and pitfalls of this kind of relationship arrangement. Interestingly, monogamy is a relatively recent concept in human history.

Before the formation of urban communities we recognize today, people were primarily polygamous. While polygamy has a somewhat checkered history in recent times, many people voluntarily opted for a polygamous relationship instead of a monogamous relationship centuries ago. These days polygamy is frowned upon in many societies and has been outrightly banned in most countries.

There are generally three forms of polygamy: polygyny, polyandry, and group marriage. Polygyny is the specific form of polygamy where a man marries multiple wives. Polyandry is a less common form of polygamy.

With polyandry, you find a woman marrying multiple men. Group marriage, as the term implies, is when several men and women marry each other. This is a rarer form of polygamy. While some people might consider the above as types of polygamy, others might recognize them as concepts of their own.

And in some instances, the terms are used interchangeably. Since polygamy is illegal in many countries, people who wish to practice polygamy opt-out of getting married in a traditional setting and choose a casual arrangement. Polygamy is often confused with polyamory, which is a more acceptable and legal way to be in a relationship with multiple partners in the world today.

Polyamory is a type of relationship where a person has multiple partners but no one is married to each other. All partners typically know of each other and are aware that they are in a polyamorous relationship.

For a healthy polyamorous relationship to work, all partners need to be open and honest with each other. In parts of the Middle East and Asia, polygamy is legal. But, as Joumanah El Matrah, manager of the Islamic Women's Welfare Council of Victoria and an opponent of polygamy, acknowledged this week, it can be surmised that the practice is probably increasing. If it wasn't, the question of its legal status wouldn't have been raised openly. And the instinctive racist response will probably be further inflamed by the fact, that, in so far as polygamy is becoming more evident in Australia, it seems to be so mainly in certain ethnic communities.

In Melbourne, the estimated 20 polygamous families are mostly Somali refugees. The declared advocates of a change in the law base their case on the anomalous situation of people who have arrived in Australia from societies in which plural marriage is accepted. In Muslim countries that allow polygamy, second and subsequent wives receive legal protection as spouses, and their children are recognised as children of the marriage.

The difficulty these families face cannot be denied, and no doubt adds to the trauma of trying to adjust to life as a refugee in a society very different from the one they were forced to flee. But acknowledging the plight of these families does not justify a change in the law.

As The Age has argued before, there are fundamental values that must be accepted by all who live in this society if the broader diversity is to be sustained. Among those core values is an acceptance of the civil equality of men and women, and that equality would not be possible if men were allowed to take more than one wife.

The same consideration would preclude a change in the law allowing women to take more than one husband, although no one has publicly argued for polyandry.