Not all men want polygamous marriages, especially those in Kuwait

Polygamy, though still accepted in some Arab communities, is rejected by the majority of regional societies. This includes Kuwait where research recently found that 99 percent of men are not polygamous. Though the country's law grants male citizens the right to take more than one wife, the majority of Kuwaiti men aren't inclined towards the phenomenon. 

According to a Professor of Psychology at Kuwait University, Dr. Hamoud Al-Qasha'an, there are many reasons behind local men rejecting polygamy. One includes the fact that women are no longer dependent on men to provide them social and financial security and can leave marriages if they need to. 

The academic also believes there's a social dimension to the issue as some wives pressure their husbands into steering away from men who have more than one wife. 

Al-Qasha'an explained that only 15 men are married to four women in the entire country, which is home to 1.3 million nationals. 

In recent years, many Kuwaiti women have made it clear they're completely opposed to polygamy. In a statement to StepFeed, Hessa, a Kuwaiti social worker, said that another reason for the local rejection of polygamy is the fact that women refuse to accept it. 

"The majority of Kuwaiti women will get a divorce if their husband decides to take a second wife. Polygamy isn't widely accepted as a norm in the country. On the contrary, Kuwaitis don't look away from the fact that it's only allowed in very specific situations and shouldn't be based on a man's desires," she said. 

"Another thing is that women here [Kuwait] are moving towards becoming more independent with the majority joining the workforce. So it's no longer an option for a husband to force his wife to accept that he wants to take more than one wife. Decades back this would've been possible but it's less of an option now," she added.  

The latest statistic on the matter made the rounds on Kuwaiti Twitter and left people quite divided. Some said the research reflects the truth while others disagreed with it. 

"This is what Kuwaitis are like." 

"This doesn't sound right."

For decades, millions across the Arab world deemed polygamy unconditionally permissible in Islam even though the religion only allows for it to happen under a very tight frame of conditions. 

This perception is slowly changing and the phenomenon has become culturally unacceptable in several regional communities. Though some women in the region continue to accept polygamy, others hold an opposite stance on the matter and file for immediate divorces from polygamous men.