Being an occasional series reporting on the complications that accompany polygynous marriages.
"Bangladesh Bigamist's Friends to Decide Faith as 'Wives' Fight Over Corpse": I cannot do better than to quote the news report.
A Bangladeshi court summoned friends of a dead man in an effort to end a six-month wrangle over his corpse by his two wives—one of whom is Hindu, the other Muslim, police said Monday. When Chandan Kumar Chakrabarty, alias Sazzad Hossain, 42, a vice-principal at a Dhaka college, was stabbed to death by muggers last December his secret double life was exposed and his two wives have since fought over his body.
"His friends will testify about whether he converted to Islam as his second wife claims," policeman Delwar Hossain told AFP, adding that the friends would appear in court on June 29. His Muslim wife, who said she married him a year ago, wants Chakrabarty to be buried in line with traditional Muslim rites. His Hindu wife, who was married to him for 15 years, said the body must be cremated, and accuses the second wife of being a "fake."
"If we still can't decide, the court will then see if we need to re-examine the body and see if he had been circumcised," Hossain said.
(June 21, 2010)
"Man in central Bangladesh beaten to death by his four wives": Another dead polygamist in Bangladesh in 2010.
A man was beaten to death by his four wives in Kabirpur village in central Bangladesh on late Tuesday, the New Age newspaper reported on Wednesday. Yunus Bapari, 46 [and an auto-rickshaw driver], was attending a village fair in Brahmankanda, not far from the town of Faridpur, with both his wives. At around 11 p.m. local time on Monday, Yunus reportedly ran into his third wife which caused an argument. The victim's two wives were not aware that Yunus had a third wife, causing a fight. It escalated even further when, during the fight, it became clear that Yunus had even a fourth wife. The women discovered that the fourth wife was living in Kabipur, and Yunus was forced to go with them in order to find the woman. There, the four angered women began hitting him. After the assault, Yunus was taken to Faridpur Medical College Hospital in a critical condition and died at around 4.50 a.m. local time on Tuesday due to the severe injuries he sustained. Authorities transported the body to a local morgue for post-mortem examination and are investigating the murder.
BangladeshI law, it bears noting, permits Muslim men to marry up to four women - but conditional on the consent of prior wives. (December 23, 2010)
"Bad for the heart": A new study finds "an association between an increasing number of wives and the severity and number of coronary blockages." (April 29, 2015)
