Polygamy in Malawi

Legal status of polygamy
Recognized under civil law
Afghanistan Algeria Bahrain Bangladesh Brunei Burkina Faso Cameroon Chad CAR Comoros Congo Djibouti Egypt Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia India1 Indonesia Iran Iraq Jordan Kuwait Libya Malaysia Maldives Mali Mauritania Morocco Myanmar Niger Oman Pakistan Palestine Qatar Saudi Arabia Senegal Singapore1 Somalia Sri Lanka1 Sudan Syria Tanzania Togo Uganda UAE Yemen Zambia
Recognized in some regions
Eritrea2 Nigeria
Foreign marriages recognized
Australia (welfare only) New Zealand United Kingdom (welfare only)
Recognized under customary law
Botswana Equatorial Guinea Lesotho Liberia Kenya Malawi Mozambique Namibia Nigeria Sierra Leone South Africa Swaziland Zimbabwe
Status in other jurisdictions
Angola Benin Bhutan Burundi Canada Côte d'Ivoire DR Congo Ethiopia Ghana Iraqi Kurdistan Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Laos Mayotte (FR) Mauritius Mongolia Niue Russia Rwanda Tajikistan Thailand Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Nigeria United States Uzbekistan Vietnam
See also
Polygamy Polygyny Polyandry Non-monogamy Polygamy by country Marriage practice by country
Notes
1 Illegal in all forms; Muslims exempt 2 Regions governed by Sharia * In certain countries and regions, only Muslims may legally contract a polygamous marriage

While polygamous marriages are not legally recognized under the civil marriage laws of Malawi, customary law affords a generous amount of benefits to polygamous unions, ranging from inheritance rights to child custody. It has been estimated that nearly one in five women in Malawi live in polygamous relationships.

Efforts to outlaw polygamy

Efforts to abolish the practice and legal recognition of polygamy have been widely apparent throughout the recent years in Malawi; led mainly by anti-AIDS organizations and feminist groups. An effort led in mid 2008 to outlaw polygamy in the country was fiercely opposed by Islamic religious leaders.