Polyandry: MPs erupt over law allowing SA women to have two husbands – The South African

In sickness, and in health and in blazing rows inside Parliament. DA Chief Whip Natasha Mazzone lost her temper with Al-Jamaah leader Ganief Hendricks, after he opposed legislation that would allow women to practice polyandry the term which refers to the act of female citizens taking multiple husbands.

Polygamy itself is nothing new to South Africa but the system is entirely skewed in favour of patriarchal figures. Men are allowed, even encouraged in some cultures, to take several wives. But doing things the other way round remains illegal.

That could change very, very soon though. Home Affairs have introduced a new Green Paper for the Marriage Act, which would elevate polyandry to the same legal status as its historical equivalent. The bill is expected to pass in the National Assembly, but Al-Jamaah who hold one seat in Parliament wont let that happen without a fight.

I am very concerned by the provision in the Green Paper of the Marriage Act where women are allowed to take more than one husband. You can imagine when a child is born, more DNA tests will be needed to discover who the father is. That backlog is going to grow! The problem is only going to get worse | Garief Hendricks

Hendricks utterances left Natasha Mazzone fuming. She immediately insisted that the MP who she refused to call honourable must be investigated by the Parliamentary Ethics Committee for using sexist language. She even made things personal, by bringing the party leaders wife into the argument.

I have to interrupt the last speaker, who is not honourable, has insulted every woman in this country by rejecting a females right to have multiple husbands when men can have multiple wives. It is not right, in 2021, to have people in Parliament says disgraceful things like that. He will be referred to the Ethics Committe.

The only woman who could possibly agree with him in this country, is his own wife.

Mazzone was told to mind her language by the House Speaker, who also flagged the senior politician for crossing a boundary with her outrage. Tsenoli confirmed that Parliament would review the comments made by Ganief Hendricks. You can watch the full video here, with the confrontation surfacing at 2:36:30.

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Polyandry: MPs erupt over law allowing SA women to have two husbands - The South African