Law should be tough on adultery

This week, a Supreme Court judge granted leave for a woman to appeal her 40-year jail sentence for killing another woman two years ago.
She argued that the trial judge had not given due weight and sufficient consideration to the fact that her husband had taken a second wife which had a direct effect on her actions and that the deceased had initially attacked her with a knife and later provoked her, and that the prosecution had not proved that she had caused her husband to take a second wife.
She claimed self-defence but admitted to committing the offence and expressed remorse for her actions.
She added that the trial judge had not considered her account and had also not let her husband testify.
Polygamous relationships have always led to social problems and disorders.
Polygamy is the practice of marrying more than one person.
In nearly all instances, this takes the form of polygyny in which a man may marry multiple wives but a woman may only marry one husband.
Researchers have found a strong link between polygamy and violence against women.
In Papua New Guinea, for instance, researchers have found a high rate of violence against women by husbands and among co-wives.
There is evidence that first wives and their children are often neglected and that when these women refuse sex, they are often beaten.
The practice of polygyny is inherently discriminatory and violates a woman’s right to equality.
Polygamy is a social disorder that weakens a family unit, its structure and the value of marriage as an institution.
The social, spiritual, psychological and economic cost of polygamy in today’s society is great.
Some young women, without thinking it through, marry men who promise them good fortune.
Even educated women fall into this trap only to later find they have been deceived.
Polygamy is one of the causes of high population growth.
This only puts strain on the Government to meet the demands of its citizens.
Mothers have been sentenced in other courts for killing their husbands’ mistresses.
Regardless of the reasons for the offence, an offence has been committed and the accused should be dealt with according to whichever law or act it applies.
The reasons for the assault can only be considered to mitigate the punishment.
Because of some fathers’ unfaithfulness, many children do not have their mother around. They are either dead or in prison.
If he had been faithful, the woman would not have done what she did and his mistress would have still be alive.
While the perpetrators go to prison as their penalty, the instigator is a free man.
It is time a new law is made to consider provocation in which the husband’s infidelity should be punished too.
While “it takes two to tango”, more people feel the pain of their pleasures.
Historically, many cultures have considered adultery a serious crime.
Adultery often incurred severe punishment, usually for the woman and sometimes for the man, with penalties including capital punishment, mutilation or torture.
It is high time the Constitutional and Law Reform Commission revisited the current legislation on adultery and polygamy with a view to making it tougher for unfaithful husbands and wives who enjoy extramarital sex to the detriment of their aggrieved spouses and children.
Maybe it was relevant to traditional societies in the past but in the modern society, a polygamous marriage can be a real headache, a nightmare for every family member.
Every woman and child has their own story to tell.