Meaning of Monogamy| Monogamy as Relationship
“Finding One True Love is the Key to a Healthy Relationship”.
Meaning of Monogamy
Monogamy is a kind of dual relationship in which a person only has a single companion during their entire life. Meanwhile, one partner at a point of time. Monogamy is thus correlating with animal and bird kingdoms where they have one partner at a time. And we are familiar with the fact that a relationship is an intense connection between two or more things.
The word Monogamy has arisen from the Greek word Monos - “Alone” and Gamos – “Marriage”. Basically, four types of Monogamy exist around the world; they are:
Marital Monogamy- defined as the marriage of only two people at a point of time.
Social Monogamy- refers to two partners cohabiting and participating in attaining basic necessities.
Sexual Monogamy- refers to two partners cohabiting with each other without any outsider.
Genetic Monogamy- refers to a monogamous relationship with genetic proof of paternity.
Humans are a combination of Chimpanzees and Bonobos. Around 12,000 years ago when humans stop hunting and move towards the agricultural revolution since then marriage was the only way to increase the family labor force.
Monogamous Relationship
The monogamous relationship first begun by Greeks and Romans in the sight that men weren’t allowed to have more than one wife during their life or not to have an external affair during their marriage. Monogamy is practiced in many societies of the world; therefore, it is crucial for us to understand how these marriage systems might have developed.
In any species, there are three main conditions that combine to encourage a monogamous mating system; they are paternal care, resource access, and mate choice. However, in humans, the logical origins of monogamy are paternal care and environmental pressure.
Monogamy in Today’s World
According to research by Collen Hoffon of 566 homosexual male couples from the San Francisco Bay Area (2010) found that 45% had monogamous relationships.
However, the Human Rights Campaign has stated, based on the Rockway Institute report that ” GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender) young people want to spend their life in a long-term relationship raising children. In fact, over 80% of the homosexual surveyed expected to be in a monogamous relationship after age 30.”
Above all, when you ask people why they choose monogamy, the answer is- They Fell in Love and are Soulmates.
One of the novels of Charles Darwin, 'The Descent of Man' states, “Women seems to differ from man in mental disposition, chiefly in her greater tenderness and less selfishness whereas Men delights in competition, and this leads to ambition. Thus men have ultimately become superior to women.”
Secondly, the data of the United States (2016) shows that nearly 2.2 U.S couples get married out of which 80,000 couples get divorced. At the same time, 1 in 5 women has been in a non-monogamous relationship.
Monogamy in Animals
Likewise, in humans, monogamous relationships are also spotted in animals. One of the best examples is Diplozoon Paradoxum- a tapeworm, they can stick with their partners for their whole life. Other examples are Gibbons, Owls, Wolves, Angelfish, Swans, Octopods, Penguins, Seahorse, and more.
Polygamy
A state of marrying too many spouses at the same time. It is legal in 58 out of nearly 200 powerful states; the vast majority of them being Muslim-majority countries in Africa and Asia. Polyandry is the practice of a woman having more than one husband at the one time, is much less prevalent than polygamy, and is now illegal in virtually every country in the world. It takes place only in remote communities.
Countries where Polygamy Prohibit:
1- India
Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 imposes monogamy under Section 11 of the Act where it is mentioned that bigamous marriages (an act of marrying one person while still you are married to another) are void. In spite of this, when someone practices it he/she will be punished according to Section 17 of the same Act read with Section 494 & 495 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 which makes such Act an offense.
Polygamy for Muslims has prohibited in 2015 after a judgment passed by the Supreme Court of India.
Punishment- If someone practices polygamy in India then either he will punish with imprisonment for 7 years, a fine, or both.
2- United States
This offense is illegal in all 50 states. However in Utah, in February 2020, the law has significantly changed.
Punishment- According to the Law of the Individual State and the Circumstance, this crime is punishable by fine, imprisonment, or both.
3- China
Polygamy has banned under the Civil Code passed in 2020, which replaced a similar 1950 and 1980 prohibition.
Punishment- According to Article 258 of Chinese Criminal Law, anyone who commits this will sentence to jail or detention of no more than 2 years.
4- Canada
All forms of polygamy are illegal under Section 293 of the Criminal Code.
Punishment- Grants penalty of up to 5 years of imprisonment.
5- Israel
Polygamy has prohibited for all confessional communities since at least 1959.
Punishment- The penalty of this offense is imprisonment of up to 5 years.
6- Turkey
This act criminalized in 1926 with the adoption of the Turkish Civil Code, part of Ataturk’s secularism reforms.
Punishment- The penalty for polygamy is imprisonment of up to 5 years.
7- Switzerland & New Zealand
Polygamy is illegal by the law. But polygamous marriages accepted when they would perform in a legal manner in another country.
Conclusion:
An American philosopher, Cornel West states, "You have to recognize that there can not be relationships unless there is commitment unless there is loyalty unless there is love, patience, and persistence." Whatever the type of relationship people support; but it is the one in which the partners support each other even in the worst and in their best. What's your opinion about this?