POLYGAMOUS MARRIAGES
Parliament of Singapore · 21 September 2004
Official Report, 21 September 2004, Vol 78, Issue 5 · Open in the reader (summaries, search, filters)
POLYGAMOUS MARRIAGES
5.
Ms Braema Mathiaparanam asked the Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, in the last five years, (a) what was the number of applications for polygamous marriages amongst Muslims; and (b) how many were successful.
Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: Islam allows for polygamous marriages, but it stipulates certain conditions before polygamy is allowed.
A man must be able to demonstrate his ability to provide for the financial, physical and emotional well- being of his wives, as well as prove that he can treat his wives equitably, before he is allowed to enter into a polygamous marriage.
Over the last five years from 1999 to 2003, there were 340 applications for polygamous marriages among Muslims. Of these, 109 were approved. This translates to about 0.5% of the total number of marriages under the Administration of Muslim Law Act during the same period.
Source: Singapore Parliament Official Report (Hansard) for 21 September 2004. Republished on SGParliament.