It is now often said that Polygamy is somewhat something of the past. I have heard many say " I cannot let my self be married as a second wife and if my hubby marries another woman I will leave him!" Long ago marriage to a second third and even forth wife was not that big of a deal. Today as I see it polygamous families are faced with law suites, public humiliation, dis-ownment but to mention a few of the common family fueds. Despite all this we still find many young women cohabiting with or married as second and third wives where they have no power and no freedom of their own.

The Islamic law allows for a man to marry up to four wives as long as he is able to financially maintain them and with the consent of his other wives. Many times young women are married as second and third wives either to get out of poverty or because they do not have a choice to refuse the marriage.

Such is the story with one of the 12 Swazi Queens Nothando Dube of Swazi. She was married at 16 yrs and was sometime ago in the spotlight for allegedly having an affair with one of the Ministers in the Royal Court. She recently wrote to a newspaper reporting that she is under house arrest. She is not being allowed out of her house or to see her husband,her family or her friends.

Read on: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/swaziland...

Reading her story makes me look at polygamy at many levels and the amount of power it can rob you of. There are also many young women in Kenya today who may not be married formally but are kept by older men who have control over where the young women go to, where thy live, who they see and sometimes even what they wear based on the fact that those men are paying the bills that support the young women.

This young woman did not have a choice on whether or not she wanted to marry the king and her "affair" is now costing her her freedom.

Please share your thoughts on this.