Middle East Focus: Iran and Polygamy, Salafis and Polygamy, Piety and a ‘Long in the Tooth Wife’………

Arabia Deserta

Iran and Polygamy, Salafis and Polygamy, Piety and a ‘Long in the Tooth Wife’………

“Women's-rights activists and reformist politicians are alarmed over the push by some hardliners to reintroduce a family-law bill that not only moderates but also some staunch conservatives find discriminatory against women. Zahra Rahnavard, the Iranian opposition politician and wife of Iranian reformist leader Mir Hossein Mousavi slammed the legislation in a recent commentary and has called for it to be evaluated by a "group of expert and progressive" people. "Calling off the ... bill from parliament's agenda is not a feminine demand but rather is a symbol of the national demand for the prosperity of the Iranian nation and the stability of Iranian families," she said. Some of the articles in the so-called Family Protection Bill that are up for debate on the Iranian parliament floor this week are controversial, to say the least……. But Zohre Elaheiyan, a conservative female Iranian lawmaker, asserts that the legislation is not discriminatory against women and that the Western media is aiming to distort its contents. "Regarding the custody of children and ... family courts, new modifications in the law are in favor of women," she told the Iranian Labor News Agency. The bill, she said, did not call for "polygamy as Western media insist." …….. ”

Polygamy is quite uncommon, nay rare and unusual, in Iran, but only partly because a man has to get approval from his current wife in order to marry a second one. A more important reason is that polygamy is not common among non-tribal societies of the Middle East, societies like Iran, Egypt, and Syria. Unlike Saudi Arabia and the UAE where no permission is required and it is more the tribal norm than the exception, especially after a certain age when the first wife gets “long in the tooth”, sometimes long before that. In the Salafi doctrine and practice, polygamy is almost a requirement for piety and heavenly goodies (but that is not the main reason why they do it, it is the “earthly entertainment” thing).
Cheers
mhg

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