Eritrean Government Law Says Men Must Marry Two Wives Or Risk Jail Term

A controversial statement allegedly  issued by the 

government of Eritrea is reportedly ordering men to marry at 


least two wives due to acute shortage of men 
caused by


enormous casualties suffered during the civil war with 

Ethiopia. In the statement written in Arabic the  government 

gave the assurance that it will give financial support to the 

polygamous marriages.

A translation of the statement states: 

“Based on the law of God in polygamy, and given the 

circumstances in which the country is experiencing in terms 

of men shortage, the Eritrean department of Religious Affairs 

has decided on the following .”

First that every man shall marry at least two women and the 

man who refuses to do so shall be subjected to life 

imprisonment with hard labour.

“The woman who tries to prevent her husband from marrying 

another wife shall be punished to life imprisonment,” alleges 

the activists in their translation.

May 1998 to June 2000 Eritrean-Ethiopian war saw 150,000 

soldiers killed from either sides but having a bigger impact 

on male population in the tiny Eritrea nation who were then 

just 4 million people in total.

Source: SDE Entertainment News