Polyandry: ‘If a woman is shared by three men and they all want her the same night, what’s going to happen?’ asks Meshoe
Just a day after Democratic Alliance (DA) Member of Parliament Natasha Mazzone exploded after a fellow MP made, what she perceived as, sexist remarks. Another MP, the African Christian Democratic Party’s (ACDP) Reverend Kenneth Meshoe threw his hat in the ring with some eyebrow-raising statements made during a live television interview on eNCA.
Both incidents follow in the wake of the news that the government is considering legalising polyandry – a form of polygamy, which allows a woman to marry two or more husbands.
At present, polygamy is reserved for men but in an attempt to promote the equality espoused by our Constitution, the Department of Home Affairs recently published a Green Paper on marriages that proposes that polyandry be recognised as a legal form of marriage because the current marriage act is not truly equal.
‘…IMAGINE BEING TOLD YOU ARE THE THIRD MAN’, SAYS MESHOE ON POLYANDRY
ACDP leader Kenneth Meshoe was interviewed by eNCA’s Shahan Ramkissoon on Thursday afternoon, 13 May.
The pair were discussing polyandry and to say that they were on different sides of the fence would be an understatement.
“If a woman is shared by three men, as an example, and they all want her the same night, what’s going to happen?” said Meshoe.
“Because there will come a time when one of the men will say ‘you spend most of the time with that man and not with me’ and there will be conflict between the two men.”
Ramkissoon explained that the reason for the proposal by the government had nothing to do with sexual relations between people and everything to do with the equality of the constitutional law.
“You are trivialising a very important matter, you are talking about men fighting about when they are going to be with a woman and we’re talking about equality,” said Ramkissoon.
Meshoe, however, was fixated with the hypothetical situation he manufactured and said he had spoken to several people – both men and women – who agreed with him.
Meshoe said South Africans must not “take this issue of humans rights too far” and that citizens have to be practical.
“Now when it comes to men… imagine being told you are the third man, what’s that going to do to his confidence? This is not workable, this is definitely not workable.”
READ: ACDP marches against gender policy while queer people fight for their lives
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