Is polygamy a feminist issue?

This question was posed to my media studies 4 class which resulted in a class debate taking place, which is a great way to get insight into how people really feel & understand a topic. Its a topic which has a yes or no answer no grey areas. Polygamy is a greek word which has been defined by dictionary.com as "the practice or condition of having more than one spouse." There are 3 specific forms of polygamy namely polygyny (one man has more than 1 wife), polyandry (one woman has more than 1 husband) and group marriage (marriage involves more than 1 husband & wife).

One may question why polygamy is even an option in many cultures, is marriage not a committment between 2 people? Is there a need to have more than 1 husband or wife? The reality is that polygyny is practised more than polyandry. A comprehensive survey of traditional societies in the world was conducted looking at the percentages of polygyny vs. polyandry. 83.39% practiced polygyny, 16.14% monogamy & 0.47% practised polyandry. Of the very few cases of polyandry being practised, fraternal polyandry (group of brothers sharing 1 wife) was the main form being practiced.

I do believe that polygamy is a feminist issue. In certain cultures it is accepted for the male to have more than 1 wife however if the roles were reversed, would it be acceptable, of course not. This raises the issue of equality between males & females & females being treated differently.

Polygamy is acceptable in certain African cultures as well as in the Islam culture.

Lets look at our very colourful President, Jacob Zuma who has recently fathered his 20th child, and he strongly believes & practises polygamy. He is proud of this Zulu cultural tradition & continues to pay lobola & get married. One questions if this is normal & should it be accepted? Would you like to be wife number 3 or 4 or 5? I certainly would not but am i missing or not understanding the culural aspect behind polygamy being accepted.

Imagine having a female president who strongly believed & promoted polyandry, this is a thought i actually cant imagine. The female president would not be assessed or judged on her abilities to lead the country but would instead gain more media attention & judgement for her actions. However it seems to be ok that Zuma has 3 wives & 20 children, should this be acceptable? Should it be ok because its part of his culture?

In Jan 2010, the TNS marketing research company conducted a survey with 2000 South Africans from a range of cities which resulted in 74% of the interviewee's feeling that a man having more than 1 wife at one time should not be accepted and that it is a problem. Zuma was asked about polygamy at the World Economic Forum in Davos in which a panel interviewer questioned whether practicing polygamy was not a symbolic step backwards or a way of increasing the inequality between men & women. Zuma's answer, "its part of my culture"

Is polygamy a feminist issue? YES i do believe it is as it promotes the inequality between men & women.