En lille britisk undersøgelse fra 2014 viser at en del muslimske kvinder lever i ægteskaber med 2-3-4 koner
“Ægteskab” er her ikke altid et officielt anerkendt ægteskab, men ofte et islamisk indgået ægteskab (nikah*) uden officiel registrering.
Det er værd at bemærke at Storbritannien mangler et centralt personregister. Så for at få fx gratis lægehjælp skal man selv registrere sig. Den manglende centrale registrering er bl.a. en af årsagerne til at mange migranter ønsker ophold i Storbritannien. Personen kan fx ikke så let findes og udvises, når opholdsgrundlaget ophører. Og det er lettere at lave andre fiflerier, der ikke følger reglerne.
Der findes også midlertidige islamiske ægteskaber (mut’a*) indgået mundtligt og privat.
I Danmark udførte religionsforsker ph.d. Tina Maegaard undersøgelsen “At være muslimsk kvinde i Danmark”- baggrundsundersøgelse om muslimske kvinders ligestilling“ (2009) for Velfærdsministeriet (ved Maïa Consult), hvori det også fremgår at muslimske kvinder i Danmark, herunder konvertitter, accepterer polygame forhold, og at en del i praksis lever i forhold med én mand og flere kvinder. Rapporten har ikke nogen optælling eller konklusion på emnet, som egentlig ikke var en del af undersøgelses-grundlaget.Polygami kom alligevel til at indgå, fordi en del af de interviewede spontant begyndte at tale om oplevelser med flerkoneri.
Her lidt fra den engelske undersøgelse :
50 women living in Muslim communities in the West Midlands were interviewed about their experiences. It gives a glimpse into how widespread the issue is.
Of the 50 women interviewed, 46 were in current marriages. Of those, the report states, “two thirds of those who identified as being married (31 of 46) said their husband has more than one wife.”
Four of the women said their husband has three wives in total, and three women said their husband has four wives in total.
The report continues: “Islamic law requires that a man who chooses to have more than one wife must be able to support all of his wives. However, of the women who said their husband has more than one wife, nearly all (27 of 31) said their husband does not support them financially. Of these women, three quarters (21 of 27) rely on state benefits.”
The report includes anonymous testimonies, including from a 32-year-old woman who told the researcher: “…I found out afterwards that he had three more wives and he is still married to them. He lives with me but refuses to pay for anything. I live in his house that he bought but I claim benefits on it to pay his mortgage.”
kilde: (Habiba Jaan. Aurat: Supporting Women .2014)
*Respublica anbefaler Gads leksikon om islam for mere viden om ægteskabsindgåelse blandt muslimer.