In case readers of this post haven’t come across Rajaa Alsanea’s Girls of Riyadh, it’s a great novel presenting Saudi society from a female point of view.
Re mesyar, I didn’t know Saudis have that arrangement, too, now. If you want to know more about the Iranian version, Tahmineh Milani’s Payback is a great feminist movie well-worth watching.

Dear Khan,
Your comment is really insightful. Agree! In cases where there is less women empowerment (financially and socially) there are probably more chances for men to practice polygamy. Many women in the Middle East have been victims of this dire situation.

Dear Khan ,

I am Living in Iran ,An Islamic country ,But as far as I have seen; such marriages has never occured ! It may occur in the future due to the changes happening all the the time all arround the globe . But As far as we have known through our books ,the socity that we are living in , has changed drastically in comparision to the society of 1400 years ago . I think we must always take great parts of everything ,and as always there has been trust and care for women , we as men also ,trust their love and care and dont rely on the polygamy .

Thanks ,

Many thanks for the post which I read with great interest. I would just like to add that probably the western understanding and application of the popular discourse of polygamy is applied to al Muslims across natilonalities, social classes etc. Things are complex in Pakistan as well where religious sections of the society try to legitimize it through the textual evidences that support it whereas the marital laws of the country officially do not sanction polygamy, What happens in practice depends on the financial and social status of women. In my personal observations, in cases where there is less women empowerment( financially and socially) there are probably more chances for men to go for it despite legal sanctions against it. I appreciate your effort to make language learning socially meaningful for your learners.

Best wishes,

Khan

But who cares about accepting it as legal ? Many things here in my country are also legal , but its important we never get hurt emotionally or physically ! What this legality is based on ? free sex in the name of marriage or having been following Sunnah ? This is the case .

As me myself have asked many Arabs in the UAE , Suadi Arabia , and some other countries follwing this custom , they just related it to the historical issues as it has been like so , in the past .but do they really read the true story of the reasons of polygemy ? As the historical records in the book have indicated for me , I came to this idea that it was necessity of the time , but now I believe time doesnt necessitate this belief any more except for the reason I mentioned above .

Many Thanks ,

Having been treated as a polygamy is sth so normal when their parents , friends and every one have been treated so ,for many years .But actually there is sth very important to mention :When 2 weeks a go that I was in Suadi Arabia and having faced with a lot of a women ,my curiosity let me ask many of them the question why having let these men to treat them as 2d ,3d , 4th and even recetly 5th ! ? she told me , before marriage he sets these conditions and if I agree to marry him ,it means I ve agreed him all his conditions even the polygemy ,she said , the answer no ,not only to this man , but also to others means being a single for the whole life . and she said , mostly coz of economic problems and the need to be taken care of , lead you to such maybe unwanted marriages .

If we also put a side the marriage issue , even in the restuarants you cant find a woman eating with his man ! all men go to these places .