Thursday, March 15, 2018

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%

1 comment:

  1. It is not clear which of the two columns on the right hand side belong to which (men, women)

    ReplyDelete