By
Jamie Sinclair
Prof. V. Cavalli
English 103
04/12/2012
Children of Polygamy
With reasonable guidelines in place to prevent human right violations, should polygamy be legal in Canada? First of all, a clear definition of the term is required: “Polygamy occurs when one husband is married to two or more wives” (Ozkan,M et al,215) .This scenario is not common in North America however has been known to occur in the past. To gain an insight to the world of polygamy, it seems that research has been undertook investigating its effects in areas of the world where it is more common, for example, the Muslim world. The decision as to whether Polygamy should be legal in Canada will be based on the research found on the effects of Polygamy on both the children of the senior and junior wife. “A senior wife is defined as a woman who was followed by another wife into the marriage. A junior wife is the most recent wife joining the marriage” (Al-Krenawi,447). In-depth research has taken place into the emotional, …show more content…
Throughout the research into polygamy there were occasions where interviews were conducted with members of polygamous families, first hand evidence can be very powerful however we see contrasting views here first we will look at those in favour of polygamy. In the paper ‘Polygamy and its Impact on the Upbringing of Children’ by M.Khasawneh et al, we see a mother asked about the impact of polygamy, to which she answers “Did not affect the children” (577). There is also a statement from a child who states “Polygamy is a very appropriate process”. Clearly displays that both the mother and a child of polygamy both seem to support