Italy grapples with polygamy
- added July 15, 2008
- 13 responses
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- aswift1
- added this
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- News and Politics (32615)
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A boom in the illegal marriages is a byproduct of voluminous immigration by Muslims. Authorities largely ignore the unions, leaving the women in a murky world with no recourse when things go wrong.
A few miles from the Vatican, Najat Hadi kept house with her husband, his other wife and their assorted children, an unhappy home with a hateful woman 10 years her junior and a cruel spouse who left her with a jagged scar peeking from her collar.
Finally, she says, her Egyptian-born husband, who worked in Rome making pizzas, beat her so badly that she left him. But he kept her children.
Thousands of polygamous marriages like Hadi's have sprung up throughout Italy as a byproduct of a fast-paced and voluminous immigration by Muslims to this Roman Catholic country.
Despite the obvious culture clash, Italian authorities largely turn a blind eye, leaving women in a murky semi-clandestine world with few rights and no recourse when things go especially badly, as they did in Hadi's case.
"It is absurd that in a civilized country like Italy, so little is acknowledged about this," said Souad Sbai, a Moroccan-born Italian lawmaker who has emerged as a one-woman champion of female Muslim immigrants here.
Italy is one of several European nations faced with the issue of polygamy. In Britain and Spain, where large Muslim communities have also settled, some officials favor recognizing polygamous marriage as a way to ensure the wives' access to pensions, medical care and other state benefits.
A few miles from the Vatican, Najat Hadi kept house with her husband, his other wife and their assorted children, an unhappy home with a hateful woman 10 years her junior and a cruel spouse who left her with a jagged scar peeking from her collar.
Finally, she says, her Egyptian-born husband, who worked in Rome making pizzas, beat her so badly that she left him. But he kept her children.
Thousands of polygamous marriages like Hadi's have sprung up throughout Italy as a byproduct of a fast-paced and voluminous immigration by Muslims to this Roman Catholic country.
Despite the obvious culture clash, Italian authorities largely turn a blind eye, leaving women in a murky semi-clandestine world with few rights and no recourse when things go especially badly, as they did in Hadi's case.
"It is absurd that in a civilized country like Italy, so little is acknowledged about this," said Souad Sbai, a Moroccan-born Italian lawmaker who has emerged as a one-woman champion of female Muslim immigrants here.
Italy is one of several European nations faced with the issue of polygamy. In Britain and Spain, where large Muslim communities have also settled, some officials favor recognizing polygamous marriage as a way to ensure the wives' access to pensions, medical care and other state benefits.
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My only problem with polygamy is that here in the US, the people are not considerd to be legally married and can apply for welfare although they have plenty of money. But I think that if the husband and wife agree, you should be able to recognize a polygamous marriage once you agree to a few legal rulings about inheritance and in case of divorce.
Then again, I am neopagan woman with a recurring fantasy of polyandry in mind. -
Another example of a patriarchal religion gone awry. When will the worlds major religions stop viewing the female of the species as baby factories, maids, and chattel? We all have such a long road ahead of us. Let's try walking side by side instead of fighting for the lead.
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couldn't agree more blue!
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- victimofcoal
- 1 month ago
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I have difficulty projecting into the future the relationship between man and woman...If someone could portend as to how it will be "a going" say 1,000 years from now, I would be highly amused...I think we all will be so egocentric, cloning might be the order of the day only to produce new viable body parts because we will live forever!..Let us not forget fun, fun, fun! Commitment? Are you crazy? Or.......absolute monogamy because finding the perfect match will also be perfected....
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- WisconsinNorm
- 1 month ago
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you've got it exactly, bluestranger. couldn't have said it better myself. and i love the word 'chattel'.
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- LindseyIndigo
- 1 month ago
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Violent horney men. A true worldwide epidemic.
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When in Rome, do it like they do,,,,
Just ignore the problem -
Why does this article sound anti-Muslim??
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Polygyny - one man, multiple wives is actually the most common marriage choice in cultures worldwide.
Abuse in any marriage or relationship is wrong and should be dealt with and prosecuted when appropriate.
However, Puritanical American or Italian Catholic judgment of plural marriage as wrong and unnatural just doesn't reflect the way the majority of plural marriages work in communities worldwide.
Christians should remember before denigrating plural marriages that the Judeo-Christian tradition is rooted in stories of plural marriages. Remember Jacob and his wives, Leah and Rachel?
Navajos well into modern times practiced polygyny, which worked for their herding, clan based culture. Blackfeet and other horse based cultures in the Americas also practiced polygyny so the widows and single women would have the solace and support of the warriors who, were often less in number due to war.
Why do Americans, who claim to espouse freedom of religion let their local, state and federal governments legislate according to the tenets of the Puritans?
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