Secondwife.com website gaining popularity in Australia, founder says

A controversial website which helps Muslim men and women find a second spouse is gaining popularity in Australia, according to its British founder.

The website

The website Source: Secondwife.com

The match-making website Secondwife.com, which helps Muslim men and women find a second spouse, has thousands of members worldwide accoridng to it's founder. 

Azad Chaiwala told Fairfax that Australia accounts for around 750 of those members.

Polygamy, which is the custom of having more than one husband or wife, is illegal in Australia.

Chaiwala said fading "stigmas" and "social taboos" are leading to the site's rise in popularity in Australia.

"A lot of Muslims give their cultural background precedence instead of looking at what religion says," he said.

"There is a lot of stigma now against Muslims so they're being stupidly cautious."

The website's front page includes definitions of polygamy, testimonials and a line from the Quran, which reads: “Then marry women of your choice, two or three, or four but if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly, then only one.”

One of the testimonials said: "The site is really easy to use and mobile friendly. A site that cares about the lifestyle of polygamy and really takes the effort to guide people properly."

Executive director of the Australian Muslim Women's Centre for Human Rights,  Joumanah El Matrah, told Fairfax that polygamy was an underground practice in Australia.

"It's frowned upon because Muslims are of the view that you can't treat two women equally," she said.

"Women and children fare very badly in polygamous set-ups. There tends to be a lot of suffering and loneliness. The limited evidence we have is that there is an increased risk of domestic violence."

Share
2 min read

Published

Source: SBS News


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world