Plans to open branches of a Malaysian “Polygamy Club” in Indonesia have upset women’s groups and religious leaders, who say the search for multiple wives should be handled privately, not by a match-making service.
Under Islamic law, Muslim men are permitted four wives. The club claims a noble aim of helping single mothers, reformed prostitutes and women who feel they are past marrying age meet spouses. It also offers counseling to people facing problems in polygamous households.
The Malaysian owners say they want to “change people’s perception about polygamy, so that they will see it as a beautiful rather than abhorrent practice,” club chairwoman Hatijah Binti Am said as members from around 30 families attended a gathering in Bandung for the opening of the first Indonesian branch last week.
Hatijah is a wife of Ashaari Muhammad, the leader of a sect outlawed in 1994 in Malaysia. Ashaari was portrayed by the movement as a messiah.
Other branches will soon be added, including in the capital, Jakarta, spokeswoman Rohaya Mohamad said.
Polygamous relationships are believed to be gaining in popularity in secular Indonesia, but it’s impossible to say how many there are because the marriages are performed secretly at mosques and are not recorded by the state.
Indonesia’s 1974 Marriage Law permits a man to have a second wife if his first is an invalid, infertile or terminally ill. However, there is no way to monitor adherence to the rules.
A prominent member of the influential Indonesian Ullema Council, a board of Muslim priests, described the launching of a formal club as a “provocative campaign.”
“Such a club is needless,” said Ma’ruf Amin. “It will draw [negative] reactions rather than solve problems.”
Several prominent political and religious figures in Indonesia have married second wives in recent years, sparking widespread public debate and calls to ban civil servants from polygamy.
Amin said that although Islam allows polygamy, popularizing the practice could encourage multiple marriages in which the husbands fail to adhere to strict guidelines, including fair treatment of all wives and children and equal financial support.
Nursyahbani Katjasungkana, director of the Institute for Indonesian Women’s Association for Justice, does not oppose men having several spouses, but said the club should not advertise openly.
“If they did it privately, that would be fine,” she said, citing the acceptance of polygamy under Islam and by the Indonesian state with specific requirements.
However, Yohanna, a member of the same women’s rights group, said the club effectively promotes abuse.
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