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ABSTRACT
There are many problems face by our society today. One of
those problems is polyandry. My document contains the
introduction of the term polyandry, its origin, causes, and suitable
remedies for this problem. I have gone through many websites and
books in order to collect information about the topic and mixed all
the information to compile this document. I have tried to clarify
each and everything related to the topic in limited time and hope
there is no mistake or need of modification.
OUTLINES
i. Introduction
ii. Invention
iii. Definition
iv. History of topic from 1st to till today
v. Current position of polyandry in society
vi. Usage of polyandry
vii. National and international status of polyandry
viii. Importance of polyandry
ix. Consequences
x. Causes of polyandry
xi. Remedy
xii. Conclusion
xiii. Personal opinion
xiv. Institutions.
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Marriage:
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a
culturally recognized union between people, called spouses,, that
establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as
between them and their children, and between them and their in-
laws.
While most of Western society practices monogamous
marriage, there are other cultures that practice other types of
mating arrangements. One of these is known as polyandry, and
the following will explain more about it.

Introduction:
The word polyandry is the combination of two
words: English word poly means many and Greek word andr
means male.
Polyandry basically means to marry with two or more males.
It is concept of having more than one husbands that was illegal
some time ago; but now it is allowed in many countries,
Invention:
In 1957, George Murdock defined polyandry for first
time in a seminal text as “unions of one woman with two or more
husbands where these types of union are culturally favored and
involve residential as well as sexual cohabitation”.
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It said to be started in Hinduism. There is at least one

reference to polyandry in the ancient Hindu epic Mahabharata.
Draupdi; the most important female character in Mahabharata,
married five pandava brothers, as this is what she chose in a
previous life. This act was taken as her personal decision and
everyone was neutral. However in the same epic the mother of
pandava brothers; kunti is asked to give example of polyandry. She
gives the example of Yudhishrhira who married to saven
saptarishis and Hiranyaksha’s sister Pracheti who married to ten
brothers.
It was the origin of polyandry that opens the doors
for others to follow this concept. Specially for Vedic society.

Definition:
There is certain amount of ambiguity regarding the
exact definition of polyandry. Certain scholars believe that
polyandry refers to the period of the development in a sexual
relationship between a man and a woman.
In fact in the extremely ancient stages of history,
polyandry was the first relationship that resembled a modern
marriage.
Now a day, it is simply defined as the marriage of a
woman to two or more men at same time. In the terms of its
practice it was always rare. Monogamy was the most commonly
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practice type of marriage, this was followed by polygyny and

finally by polyandry.

History of polyandry:
According to inscriptions describing the reforms of the
Sumerian king Urukagina of Lagash in 2300 BC, the earlier
custom of polyandry in his country was abolished, on pain of the
woman taking multiple husbands being stoned upon which her
crime is written.
As in 2300 BC polyandry was abolished, it means the
system of polyandry was much more years before this time.
An early example of polyandry can be found in the
Hindu epic Mahabharata, in which Draupadi, daughter of the
king of Panchala, is married to five brothers.
Polyandry was mainly prevalent in the Kinnaur
reliogion, a part of Himachal in India which is close to the Tibet
or currently the Indo-China border. As mentioned in the epic
Mahabharata, the pandavas were banished from their kingdom
for thirteen years and they spent the last year hiding in this hilly
terrain of Kinnaur. A minority of kinnauris still claim to be
descendants of the Pandavas and thus justify the practice of
polyandry. However, this is a debatable issue as kinnauris existed
long before the pandavas as mentioned in the epic.
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Apart from the Kinnaur, polyandry was practiced in

South India among the Todas tribes of Nilgiris, Nanjand Vellala of
Travancore and some Nair castes.
While polyandrous unions have disappeared from the
traditions of many of the groups and tribes, it is still practiced by
some paharis, especially in the Jaunsar-Bawar region in Norhern
India.
Recent years have seen the rise in fraternal polyandry
in the agrarian societies in Malwa region of Punjab to avoid
division of farming land.
Of the 1231 societies listed in the 1980 Ethnographic
atlas, 186 were found to be monogamous, 453 had occasional
polygyny; 588 had frequent polygyny; and 4 had polyandry.
Polyandry is less rare than this figure suggests, as it considered
only those examples found in the Himalayan Mountains. More
recent studies have found more than 50 other societies practicing
polyandry.
Current Position of polyandry:
Today polyandry is believed to be practiced among
Tibetans in Nepal, parts of China and part of northern India, in
which two or more brothers are married to the same wife, with the
wife having equal “sexual access” to them. It is associated with
partible paternity, the cultural belief that a child can have more one
father.
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A survey of 753 Tibetan families by Tibet University in

1988 found that 12% practiced polyandry. Polyandry in India still
exists among minorities, and also in Bhutan, and the northern parts
of the Nepal.
It also occurs or has occurred in Nigeria, the Nymba and
some Polynesian societies, though probably only among higher
caste women. It is also encountered in some regions of Yunnan and
Sichuan regions of China and in some sub-Saharan African such as
the Maasai people in Kenya and Northern Tanzania and American
indigenous communities.
Usage of polyandry:
Polyandry is believed to be more likely in
societies with scarce environmental resources. It is believed to
limit human population growth and enhance child survival. It is a
rare form of marriage that exists not only among peasant families
but also among the elite families.
For example, polyandry in the
Himalayan Mountain is related to the scarcity of land. The
marriage of all brothers in a family to the same wife allows family
land to intact and undivided. If every brother married separately
and had children, family land would be split into unsustainable
small plots.
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National and international status of polyandry:

Many nations today allow
polyandry and is legal for those nations. Some countries following
some religions that are strict in such matter do not follow this
culture rather they oppose the concept of polyandry.
Pakistan being a Muslim does not allow polyandry system
of marriage. In fact, according to Section 494 of the Pakistan
Penal Code, whoever, having a husband or wife living, marries in
any case in which such marriage is void by reason of its taking
place during the life of such husband or wife, shall be punished
with imprisonment of either description for a term which may
extend to seven year and shall also be liable to fine.
A recent case on polyandry was seen in Pakistan, when famous
actress Meera’s husband Attique ur Rerhman claimed that his wife
is running two marriages with him and captain Naveed
simultaneously. He demanded punishment for Meera according to
PPC section 494.
Moreover, the free women of Kailash valley that do
not belong to any particular religion practice the things the wish to
do and there is no restriction for them in any activity of their lives.
They marry with they want and there is no interference of their
parents in their lives. They also follow the polyandry system of
marriage.
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At international level, the best known areas in which

polyandry was studied and continued to be practiced into 21st
century are the Plateau of Tibet, a region shared by India, Nepal
and Tibet autonomous region of China, and the Marquesas Islands
in the South Pacific.
In a report published in 2012, however, anthropologists
Kathrine Starkweather and Raymond Hames identified 53
additional non-classical societies throughout the world that also
practiced polyandry.
Importance of polyandry:
The countries that follow the polyandry
system of marriage consider it very important for them.
They give it importance as they think
that population remain under control as multiple men marry only
one woman.
Moreover it is belied that polyandry system of marriage
gives opportunity to share the financial burden among husbands
and no poverty problems are created.
Some nations think that through polyandry system of
marriage joint family system is strengthened as mostly in this
system husband are brothers and then they live together to share
one wife.
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Hence due to these useless concepts they give importance

to this immoral system of marriage.

The consequence of Polyandry marriage:

Polyandry marriage is
considered to be important an d beneficial due to few limited
concepts that are called advantages. In real sense it is not only
immoral activity but harmful as well. This system has many
disadvantages and it should be removed from the society.
Otherwise harsh consequences will be faced.
Disadvantages of polyandry system of marriage are:
i. It adversely affects women’s health, since women with
multiple husbands interact with her.
ii. It destroys the family which is the foundation of a healthy
society. It is not usually easy for a woman to perform her
duties as a wife and a mother despite having several
husbands.
iii. It increases sterility among women.
iv. It causes population problems.
v. It increases the number of divorces.
vi. It threatens the social progress.
vii. It may cause identification problems for conceived child.
Hence the consequences are not bearable for the whole society. It
affects not only women but whole family and the whole society.
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Causes of polyandry:
Of course, it is not an easy task to give a
generalized picture of the causes of polyandry. Still this form of
marriage depends upon certain peculiar local conditions. Those
conditions are as follows:
i. Scarcity of women:
Polyandry is found in such communities
where the woman population is less than male population.
Due to shortage or scarcity of women a number of men are
required to marry one woman.

ii. Social customs:

In some communities polyandry is practiced from
time immemorial. It is a custom marriage to them.

iii. Extreme poverty:

There exists a close connection between
poverty and polyandry. The condition extreme poverty may
not permit a man to have more wives or even one wife.
Under circumstances he may prefer to polyandry. That is the
probably the reason that in western poor people practice the
polyandry.
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iv. Bride price:

High demand of bride-price in some tribal
communities is also the cause of polyandry. Owing to the
poor economic status a single man fails to arrange the bride
price independence. Hence the members of men collectively
arrange bride price and marry a woman.

v. Desire to keep property intact:

It is said that some societies marry one
woman just to avoid the division of their property and
houses. The poor people practice polyandry because every
far cannot afford to split up into smaller units. Thus, the
practice of polyandry is motivated by desire to keep the
property intact and to maintain the strength and power of the
joint family.

vi. Desire to control population:

It is an admitted fact that a single
woman bears a limited children. Under polyandry many men
marry a single woman. As the children producing capacity of
a women is limit hence, polyandry is a very effective method
to the people who desire to keep the population under
control.
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How to remove polyandry:

As polyandry is adapted due to some
certain conditions, those conditions can be improved and
problems should be solved in order to remove this system
from the society.
The problem of scarcity of people can be resolved
by adopting the system of exogamy. If marriage outside the
biradari is allowed in the society the polyandry can be
reduced.
There should be reforms in the social customs and
such things should not be kept in customs and traditions,
keeping in mind the disadvantages of polyandry.
The government can help the poor people to get any
source of income and help the poor to get marry. In this way
problem of poverty can be solved and none will need to
adopt polyandry.
Bride price is illegal according to the law and
religion. The women should not be sold at price. If this
system is removed from the society than polyandry rate can
be reduced to zero or near to zero.
There are the rules in law and religion to share the
property. Our greed makes us commit such things that are
immoral and are prohibited. If we follow the rules of
division of property, we will not have to adopt polyandry to
keep our property intact.
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The government has introduced population welfare

programs and various organizations are working to control
the population and for the welfare of the population. We
should cooperate with those organizations in order to control
the population. This problem can be solved in this way and
there is no need of polyandry.
If we follow these things to solve the problems than
the concept of polyandry can easily be solved and this
system can be removed from the society.

Conclusion:
Polyandry is the system of marrying more than
one man that is followed in some countries under some specific
conditions. If those conditions are changed than this system can be
eliminated. It is must to avoid this system as it brings a lot of
problems not only for the wife and husbands but for the whole
family and the whole society.
My opinion:
Polyandry though followed due to some
serious causes but is still immoral and useless system. It is surely
an injustice with the woman, in fact cruelty to her. This concept
should strictly be prohibited all over the world by international
organization. There should be strict sanctions for this act.
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I firmly disagree with the benefits explained by the

societies that follow this system.
Institutes:
There was not sufficient information about institutes of
polyandry except the regions where it is practiced. All important
areas are already discussed above.