Kenya Legalizes Polygamy

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta has signed a controversial bill into law legalizing polygamy.
The new law permits men to marry as many wives as they wish.

Several male MPs supported the bill, voting through the amendment while their female
counterparts walked out of parliament in disgust stating that a decision to take on another wife
would affect the whole family, including the financial position of other spouses. The bill was
also opposed by Christian leaders who urged the president not to pass the law, saying that it
undermined Christian principles of marriage and family. Traditionally, first wives are supposed
to give prior approval.

The new law also bans marriages under eighteen years of age and specifies that all marriages
be registered including customary unions. It also stipulates that women would be entitled to
50% of the property acquired during marriage.