Why marrying a married man? a qualitative exploration of women's perception of polygyny

Abstract

Motivations pf polygynous marriages are far from been settled. While some scholars believe in the age-long marital arrangement, others claim that it is a form of slavery and oppressive to women folks. This paper examines the pragmatic reasons and provides answers to women "Why Yoruba women marry married men" despite the afore argument that polygny fundamentally enslaves women. This study primarily dwell on findings from a qualitative research design with particular emphasis on narratives of married women in typical Yoruba settings of Southwestern Nigeria. Both focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were conducted among Yoruba women in polygynous marriages, specifically those in second, third or more positions. Yoruba women from Ile-Ife and Modakeke towns of Osun Sate, Southwestern Nigeria were purposively selected for the study. The findings reveal the reasons polygyny is likely to outlive its criticisms in traditional and contemporary socieities of Yorubaland. These reasons which include economic security, religious injunction, deception, cultural, and traditional beliefs were considerd. The study concluded that the discussion of polygyny need to be understood from women's perspectives in contrast to the previous concensus and explanations about polygyny in extant studies.