‘You Must Marry More Than One Wife Or Go To Jail’… Government Ordered Eritrean Men

Men in Eritrea have been ordered by the government to marry at least two wives or go to jail for life.The order was contained in a statement in Arabic by the Grand Mufti, the highest official of religious law in the country, which was made available on the social media.

The government, however, said it would pay for the marriage ceremonies and the houses the wives and husband would occupy.The order is based on the shortage of men in the country when compared with the population of women.

No fewer than 150,000 men were reportedly killed during the secession war from Ethiopia between 1998 and 2000.The document, which could not be independently verified, reads: “Based on the law of God in polygamy, and given the circumstances 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.”.