Statistics Support Polyandry and not polygyny

by Dr. Aslam Abdullah

In our world, there are 50.4 percent men and 49.6 percent women. In countries where Muslims are in majority out of 1.5 billion (China and India and Russia not included) men outnumber women by almost two percent. Yet, people argue that if men do not marry multiple wives, they would leave a great majority of women unmarried. In their view, men must do this act of compassion and kindness.

Those who advocate multiple wives for a husband say that women outnumber me and hence men must take care of them by marrying more than one. Thirty-nine countries with a Muslim majority have more men than women. Fifteen have more women than men. In countries where women outnumber men the difference is minimal while in countries where men outnumber women, the difference is huge.

In Qatar, the UAE, Oman, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, men outnumber women by 20 percent to 50 percent margin. In Turkey, Senegal, Malaysia, Bosnia, and Kirghizstan, women outnumber men by one to two percent.

Let us assume that most girls and boys in the Muslim world get married between the ages of 15 to 24.  In the this age category, in almost every Muslim majority country men outnumber women by 3 to 5 percent margin.

The argument that women outnumber men, hence a husband can take multiple wives is statistically a mute issue.

Have a look at the ratio of men and women in each of the Muslim majority and decide for yourself if the numbers justify multiple marriages.  I have included the population of the two countries where Muslims are in large number even though the country does not have a Muslim majority. They are China and India, where men outnumber women by at least 1.5 percent a huge difference when we look at the size of the population.

Some people would say that Allah has given permission for multiple wives and the Sunnah of the Prophet and companions also endorses it.  Of course, there is one verse in the Quran, but it refers to a particular situation in a tribal society with no concept of public welfare and of course, the Prophet Muhammad, and most prophets had multiple wives, but that again was within the context of their time and situation. They cannot be applied as general rules.

The general rule calls for monogamy.

Those who say that the number of gay men reduces the number of men seeking marriage with women are making an assumption. No statistics about gay men or women exist in the Muslim world and any conclusion based on assumptive numbers may be misleading.

There are people who suggest that if multiple marriages are not allowed, orphan and widows would remain helpless. Well, what about creating a welfare system that takes care of people in this situation. What about empowering women with skills and education that can make them self-sufficient? What about ensuring that their financial dependence is not exploited?

Yes, there might arise a situation where multiple wives may be justified, but that decision would be based on sociological conditions after deliberations involving both men and women. It will not be imposed on society in the name of God by some self-styled scholars.
 Country                                          Total               Men           Women

Qatar	2,168,673	76.50%	23.50%
United Arab Emirates	9,346,129	70.10%	29.90%
Oman	3,632,444	63.60%	36.40%
Bahrain	1,332,171	62.20%	37.80%
Kuwait	3,368,572	59.80%	40.20%
Saudi Arabia	28,828,870	57.50%	42.50%
Western Sahara	567,315	52.60%	47.40%
China	1,385,566,537	51.80%	48.20%
India	1,252,139,596	51.70%	48.30%
Pakistan	182,142,594	51.40%	48.60%
Equatorial Guinea	757,014	51.20%	48.80%
Jordan	7,273,799	51.00%	49.00%
Nigeria	173,615,345	50.90%	49.10%
Syrian Arab Republic	21,898,061	50.90%	49.10%
State of Palestine	4,326,295	50.80%	49.20%
Afghanistan	30,551,674	50.70%	49.30%
Brunei Darussalam	417,784	50.70%	49.30%
Bangladesh	156,594,962	50.60%	49.40%
Algeria	39,208,194	50.60%	49.40%
Iraq	33,765,232	50.60%	49.40%
Yemen	24,407,381	50.40%	49.60%
Niger	17,831,270	50.40%	49.60%
Mali	15,301,650	50.40%	49.60%
Mauritania	3,889,880	50.40%	49.60%
Comoros	734,917	50.40%	49.60%
Maldives	345,023	50.40%	49.60%
Indonesia	249,865,631	50.30%	49.70%
Iran (Islamic Republic of)	77,447,168	50.30%	49.70%
Iceland	329,535	50.30%	49.70%
Sudan	37,964,306	50.20%	49.80%
Tajikistan	8,207,834	50.20%	49.80%
Djibouti	872,932	50.20%	49.80%
Egypt	82,056,378	50.20%	49.80%
Malawi	16,362,567	50.10%	49.90%
Chad	12,825,314	50.10%	49.90%
Albania	3,173,271	50.10%	49.90%
Suriname	539,276	50.10%	49.90%
Cameroon	22,253,959	50.00%	50.00%
Libya	6,201,521	50.00%	50.00%
Eritrea	6,333,135	49.90%	50.10%
Uzbekistan	28,934,102	49.70%	50.30%
Burkina Faso	16,934,839	49.70%	50.30%
Somalia	10,495,583	49.70%	50.30%
Azerbaijan	9,413,420	49.70%	50.30%
Tunisia	10,996,515	49.60%	50.40%
Gambia	1,849,285	49.50%	50.50%
Morocco	33,008,150	49.40%	50.60%
Kyrgyzstan	5,547,548	49.30%	50.70%
Turkmenistan	5,240,072	49.20%	50.80%
Turkey	74,932,641	49.10%	50.90%
Senegal	14,133,280	49.00%	51.00%
Bosnia and Herzegovina	3,829,307	48.80%	51.20%
Malaysia	29,716,965	48.50%	51.50%
Kazakhstan	16,440,586	48.10%	51.90%