Malawi: Of Polygamy, Women And Children's Rights

"I cannot pretend that every thing is rosy in a polygamous marriage. There is a lot of misery and hatred which is sometimes beyond description." These were the sentiments of a wife in a polygamous family with three other women in Mangochi. "I am often subjected to mistreatment just because I'm now regarded as a spent force," says Rosemary Jamali, the first wife to a small-scale fisherman in the lakeshore district. Polygamy, says Linly Kantengeni, a women's rights activist, does not only pose a physical threat to most women but is also a psychological ailment.