Polygynous Muslim Marriages in South Africa: Their Potential Impact on the Incidence of HIV/AIDS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2009/v12i3a2734Abstract
This article examines whether there is any relationship between the institution of polygynous marriages in Islam and the incidence or spread of the disease. It is suggested that, while polygyny may be a contributing factor, it is not the institution of marriage per se that relates to the disease (although the prospect of greater infection intra marriage must be present in polygynous marriages, if the husband is the infecting party), but the conduct of the parties to the marriage relationship, whatever its nature.
The focus and thrust lies with the institution of polygyny in Islam, the South African response to polygyny, the (potential) impact of polygyny on the incidence of AIDS, and the contribution that both an informed approach to HIV and an enlightened approach to the application of Islamic values could or would have on the limitation of the disease's spread
Downloads
References
Bibliography
Abrahams Perceptions
Abrahams S Perceptions of HIV/AIDS-Related Stigma among Muslims in a Cape Town Community (MPsych mini-thesis UWC Bellville 2006)
Ahmad Muslim law of divorce
Ahmad KN The Muslim law of divorce (Kitab Bhavan New Delhi 1984)
Ahmed Positive Muslims
Ahmed AK Positive Muslims: A critical analysis of Muslim Aids activism in relation to women living with HIV/Aids in Cape Town (MA thesis UWC Bellville 2003)
Albertyn et al "Women's freedom"
Albertyn C et al "Women's freedom and security of the person" in: Bonthuys E and Albertyn C (eds) Gender, Law and Justice (Juta Cape Town 2007) 295-381
Ali The Holy Qur'an
Ali AY The Holy Qur'an (Text, Translation and Commentary) (Islamic Education Centre Jeddah 1946)
Anon 2002 Treasure Magazine
Anon "Interview with Fagmeeda Miller" 2002 (1) Treasure Magazine 24
Asad Message
Asad M The Message of the Quran (Translation) (Dar al-Andalus London 1980)
Dhansay 2002 Treasure Magazine
Dhansay B "Muslim aids programme raises awareness" 2002 (1) Treasure Magazine 25
Dlamini 1989 CILSA
Dlamini CRM "Should we legalise or abolish polygamy?" 1989 (22)
Comparative and International Law of South Africa 330-345
Eba "Pandora's box"
Eba PM "Pandora's box: The criminalisation of HIV transmission or exposure in SADC countries" in Viljoen F and Precious S (eds) Human rights under threat: four perspectives on HIV, AIDS and the law in Southern Africa (Pretoria University Law Press Pretoria 2007) 13-54
Gray 2004 Social Science & Medicine
Gray PB "HIV and Islam: is HIV prevalence lower among Muslims?" 2004
(58) Social Science & Medicine 1751-1756
Kaganas and Murray 1991 Acta Juridica
Kaganas F and Murray C "Law, women and the family: the question of polygyny in a new South Africa" 1991 Acta Juridica 116-134
Kelly 2006 JJS
Kelly LM "Polygyny and HIV/AIDS: A health and human rights approach"
(31) Journal for Juridical Science 1-38
Mahomed 1993 SAJHR
Mahomed IA "Legal rights and Aids" 1993 (9) South African Journal of Human Rights vi-ix
Mbatha, Moosa and Bonthuys "Culture and religion"
Mbatha L, Moosa N and Bonthuys E "Culture and religion" in Bonthuys E and Albertyn C (eds) Gender, Law and Justice (Juta Cape Town 2007)158194
Moosa "Women"
Moosa N "Women, gender and child marriage: Sub-Saharan Africa" in The
Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures Vol 3 (Brill Academic Publishers Leiden 2006) 19-21
Moosa Analysis
Moosa N An Analysis of the Human Rights and Gender Consequences of the New South African Constitution and Bill of Rights with Regard to the Recognition and Implementation Of Muslim Personal Law (MPL) (LLD dissertation UWC Bellville 1996)
Moosa Comparative Study
Moosa N A Comparative Study of the South African and Islamic Law of
Succession and Matrimonial Property with Especial Attention to the
Implications for the Muslim Woman (LLM thesis UWC Bellville 1991)
Moosa Unveiling the mind
Moosa N Unveiling the mind. A herstory of the historical evolution of the legal position of women in Islam (Community Law Centre UWC Cape Town 2004)
Pearl and Menski Muslim Family Law
Pearl D and Menski W Muslim Family Law 3rd ed (Sweet & Maxwell London 1998)
Rautenbach, Goolam and Moosa "Constitutional analysis"
Rautenbach C, Goolam NMI and Moosa N "Constitutional analysis" in
Bekker JC, Rautenbach C and Goolam NMI (eds) Introduction to Legal
Pluralism in South Africa 2nd ed (LexisNexis Butterworths Durban 2006) 149-173
Reniers and Tfaily 'Polygyny'
Reniers G and Tfaily R 'Polygyny and HIV in Malawi' Working Paper
Institute of Behavioral Science (IBS) Population Program (University of Colorado Boulder 2008) 1-22
Saabiq Fiqh as Sunnah
Saabiq S Fiqh as Sunnah. Kitaab al Zakaah Vol 1 (Dar al Kitab al 'Arabi Beirut Lebanon 1985) 332
Steinberg Three-Letter Plague
Steinberg J Three-Letter Plague. A Young Man's Journey Through a Great Epidemic (Jonathan Ball Johannesburg 2008)
WLUML "Roundtable"
WLUML "Roundtable on Strategies to Address 'Crimes of Honour':
Summary Report" CIMEL/Interights Women Living Under Muslim Laws Occasional Paper No 12 November 2001 London 3-33
WLUML Knowing Our Rights
WLUML Knowing Our Rights: Women, Family, Laws and Customs in the Muslim World (WLUML London 2003)
Register of legislation
Childrens Act 38 of 2005
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996
Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007
Interim Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act 200 of 1993 Marriage Act 25 of 1961
Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961
Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998
Tunisian Law of Personal Status 1956
Register of court cases
Amod v Multilateral Motor Vehicle Accidents Fund (Commissioner for Gender
Equality Intervening) 1999 (4) SA 1319 (SCA)
Amod v Multilateral Motor Vehicle Accidents Fund 1997 (12) BCLR 1716 (D)
Brown v Fritz Brown's Executors and Others (1860) 3 Searle 313
Daniels v Campbell NO 2003 (9) BCLR 969 (C); 2004 (7) BCLR 735 (CC); 2004 (5) SA 331 (CC)
Davids v The Master 1983 (1) SA 458 (C)
Hassam v Jacobs NO and Others (with the Muslim Youth Movement of South
Africa and the Women's Legal Centre Trust as Amici Curiae) Case CCT 83/08 (2009) ZACC 19
Hassam v Jacobs NO and Others 2008 (4) SA 350 (C)
Ismail v Ismail 1983 (1) SA 1006 (A)
Kalla v The Master 1995 (1) SA 261 (T)
Khan v Khan 2005 (2) SA 272 (T)
Ryland v Edros 1997 (2) SA 690 (C)
Seedat's Executors v the Master (Natal) 1917 AD 302
Women's Legal Centre Trust v President of the Republic of South Africa and
Others (with the United Ulama Council of South Africa and Others as Amici Curiae) Case CCT 13/09 (2009) ZACC 20
Register of internet resources
Ahmed and Noordien 2001 www.kit.nl/
Ahmed AK and Noordien F 2001 "Positive Muslims" leadership in South
Africa www.kit.nl/exchange/html/2001-3-positive_muslim.asp [accessed on 12 June 2008]
AIDS Foundation [no date] www.aids.org.za/hiv.htm
AIDS Foundation South Africa [no date] Human Immunodeficiency Virus www.aids.org.za/hiv.htm [accessed on 10 June 2008]
AVERT 2009 www.avert.org/safricastats.htm AVERT 2009 South Africa HIV and AIDS statistics www.avert.org/safricastats.htm [accessed 16 September 2009]
CC 2009 www.constitutionalcourt.org.za/site/Legal-Centre-Trust.htm Constitutional Court 2009 Media summary
www.constitutionalcourt.org.za/site/Legal-Centre-Trust.htm [accessed on 7 September 2009]
CC 2009 www.constitutionalcourt.org.za/site/Hassam.htm Constitutional Court 2009 Media summary
www.constitutionalcourt.org.za/site/Hassam.htm [accessed on 6 September 2009]
Lazaro 2001 www.pbs.org/
Lazaro F de Sam "Senegal's success" 2001 Online NewsHour 17 May
www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/jan-june01/aids_ 5-17.html
[accessed 7 September 2009]
Legalbrief Today 2009 www.legalbrief.co.za
Legalbrief Today 2009 Constitutional: Muslim marriage issue must be
lodged in High Court www.legalbrief.co.za No 2362 23 July 2009 [accessed 7 September 2009]
Page-Shafer 2000 www.thebody.com/
Page-Shafer K 2000 The global HIV/AIDS epidemic
www.thebody.com/content/world/art2618.html [accessed on 24 June 2008]
Positive Muslims [no date] www.positivemuslims.org.za/
Positive Muslims [no date] HIV/AIDS is not "out there". It is here – Bokaap, Cravenby, Surrey Estate, Mitchells Plain, Lenasia and Laudium www.positivemuslims.org.za/ [accessed on 12 June 2008]
Positive Muslims [no date] www.positivemuslims.org.za/beinghiv.htm Positive Muslims [no date] Being HIV+ www.positivemuslims.org.za/beinghiv.htm [accessed on 12 June 2008]
SALRC 2003 www.law.wits.ac.za/salc/salc.html
South African Law Reform Commission 2003 Report on Islamic Marriages and Related Matters Project 59 www.law.wits.ac.za/salc/salc.html
[accessed 7 September 2009]
StatsSA 2001 www.statssa.gov.za/census01/HTML/RSAPrimary.pdf StatsSA 2001 South African Population Census
www.statssa.gov.za/census01/HTML/RSAPrimary.pdf [accessed on 6 September 2009]
UNAIDS 2008 data.unaids.org/
UNAIDS 2008 Global Report data.unaids.org/pub/GlobalReport/2008/jc15
_2008_global_report_pp211_234_en.pdf [accessed 7 September 2009]
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2017 N Moosa
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
.png){kind=spacer}