Editing Polygyny (section)

==== South Africa ====
{{Main|Polygamy in South Africa}}
Polygynous marriages are legal under certain circumstances in South Africa. All polygynous marriages entered into in accordance with the provisions of the [[Recognition of Customary Marriages Act]] are legal. Polygyny in South Africa is practiced among the indigenous Bantu ethnic groups of South Africa, and also within the Muslim community. Although it was widespread in ancient times, it is now only common amongst richer men and men of status, such as chiefs and kings, including the former President of the Republic of South Africa, [[Jacob Zuma]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-04-14|title=What's next for Zuma's wives?|url=https://citizen.co.za/lifestyle/entertainment/2473447/whats-next-for-zumas-wives/|access-date=2021-07-28|website=The Citizen|language=en}}</ref> Polygynous marriages of individuals over the age of 15 accounts for approximately 30,000 (0.1%) people in 2001. Both Islamic law and cultural family laws create a system in which Muslim men are encouraged to take up to four wives. Several factors for this include infertility or long-term illness of the first wife, excessive wealth on the part of the husband enabling him to support widowed or divorced mothers, and the economic benefits of large families.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal|last=Moosa|first=N|date=2009-09-24|title=Polygynous Muslim Marriages in South Africa: Their Potential Impact on the Incidence of HIV/AIDS|journal=Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal/Potchefstroomse Elektroniese Regsblad|volume=12|issue=3|doi=10.4314/pelj.v12i3.46271 |doi-access=free|hdl=10394/3641|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

Despite the historical and cultural history of polygyny among Muslim South Africans, polygynous unions are officially illegal on the national level in South Africa. After 1994, various laws such as the freedom of religion in the South African Constitution, the ratification of the UN's Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and a proposed Draft Bill on Muslim Marriages have tackled the issue of Islamic polygynous unions in South Africa.<ref name=":8" />