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Aceh legislature mulls easing polygamy restrictions
The draft bylaw stipulates that men can apply to a Sharia council for a permit to marry an additional wife without spousal permission.
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Aceh's regional legislative council is deliberating on a bylaw that would make it easier for men to be polygamous. (Shutterstock/File)
Aceh's regional legislative council is deliberating on a bylaw that would make it easier for men to be polygamous.
The bylaw, which the council aims to pass before the end of the 2014-2019 legislative term in September, would allow men in the sharia-governed province to marry a second, third or fourth wife without the permission of their current wife or wives, as long as they meet certain criteria.
This is in contrast to the national 1974 Marriage Law, which requires the current spouse or spouses to approve their husband's request to marry another woman.
Musannif, the head of the legislative council’s commission overseeing religious and cultural affairs, said the bylaw had been proposed by the Aceh provincial government, namely its Islamic sharia agency.
Besides polygamy, the bylaw also regulates other matters related to family law, such as marriage, divorce and inheritance.
Musannif said the bylaw’s polygamy articles were meant to address the prevalence of nikah siri (unofficial, unregistered marriages) in the province.
"This results in injustice toward women, whose rights as wives are nor protected, and also toward the children who are born in nikah siri," he said.
