to be a bit unhappy about Harems being supported by the taxpayer?

[pankhurst]

I am ardently against polygamy. Sorry. I think it's discourteous and (because usually male advantageous) sexist nonsense masquerading as religious right.

I found out that men with multiple wives under islam will have benefits for all of them.

AIBU to be concerned about this? If I were a muslim man on benefits and I wanted to, there would be NOTHING now to stop me bringing four wives in.

I don't want my children to grow up in a country where harems are even 1% of the population. I really don't. I would prefer more obstacles rather than making it easier.

Or did I miss the point somewhere? Help?

I agree with you, particularly because bigamy (and for that read polygamy in another culture), is illegal in this country.

I think the rules are that the wives must have been legally married in their country of origin, and that (obviously), polygamy is legal in that country of origin.

Even so, 'tis a crock of shit.

what ruby said

plenty of people regardless of colour, creed or religion milk the system in multiple ways

i think that there are far more widespread abuses of the benefits system going on than this

Agree with lulumama.

Even in muslim countries it's rare for a man to have more than one wife, so I doubt that there are very many cases of it going on here.

no polygamy isn't recognised in the UK. that's exactly the point.

so the person goes to get a few wives in LEGAL marriages outside this country, and then comes back to this country, and has everyone supported on benefits.

I don't care what COLOUR people are - polygamy is allowed under Mormonism as well.

I care that my government think this is a reasonable policy to support.

tbh, if SLAVERY was legal in another country and a man was allowed to bring in his slaves and have them recognised by the state as a reasonable household, I'd be furious too!

As far as I know it is very difficult, if not impossible, to bring a second/other wife into this country from their country of marriage as British Law does not recognise them as a 'wife' and therefore they do not have the same spousal rights as the first wife

Hmmm - and the benefit system wouldn't spot the fact that the same husband's details kept popping up in relation to several different wives? I think not. THis feels like scaremongering.

there are about 1000 at estimates

I agree with you

therefore how are these 'benefits' being doled out ? Are we sending benefits off to Pakistan ? Nah, thought not.

IMO, you are worrying disproportionately about a very small 'problem'.

What about the enormous number of benefit fraudsters gaining benefits in other ways ? They are much more common than your Muslim polygamous wife.

The Daily Mail, by any chance?

"Immigrants took my baby!"

This feels like a thinly veiled racist NIMBY thread.

pankhurst, do you have any facts or information to show that this is happening? what made you think about this? it is something that has never crossed my mind , so am interested to know what triggered this

Yes, I heard this on the news yesterday. It won't count for bigamists, but if you have a polygamous marriage which is legally binding in the country that you were married in, apparently you will be able to claim for multiple dependents (wives and children).

I'll see if I can find the link.

it's not scaremongering.

it's factually correct and I don't understand what the benefit of it is to my society.

i understand the benefits in terms of people's Human Rights (i.e. it is important to take account of sharia law and to incorporate it into the UK because otherwise you are breaching the rights of those who want polygamy)

but I am not very happy about it - because i don't want polygamy to be facilitated - especially not by my taxes.

but at all in fact. I don't want polygamous households to be a normative part of UK society.

Here you go and it was on Radio 4 yesterday too.

thank you for the link

i still thikn that on balance, there are far more people screwing the system in other ways that require attention far more than this

i'll try and find the link...

i am not connecting to race - i think i'm being culturalist actually. and i feel bad about that. but polygamy feels like a form of slavery to me and I would NOT be having that either. regardless of whether it was allowed in another country.

nor female circumcision either if another analogy would help...I would NOT want the UK to support that with tax money.

But I am hoping i have got the wrong end of the stick and there's a better logic behind it that someone can help with? this is a genuine ask, rather than a BNP recruitment campaign.

thanks lapinindetention,

"...concluded that recognising multiple marriages conducted overseas was "the best possible" option. "

I'm sorry to ask but do you understand why it's the best possible option?

I read that and I just didn't understand it.

do you understand it rubyrioja?

or nomedeplume?

I want a wife.