Bigamy

The Bigamy is a legal term that refers to the condition of having more than one spouse at the same time. Once a person is legally married, he or she must legally end that marriage before marrying another person. In many countries of the world, the act of bigamy is a crime , and the marriage with the second spouse is subject to annulment , as well as the civil and criminal consequences that occur in some cases.

Etymology

The word bigamy comes from the word of Greek origin that is formed by the words ” Bis ” referring to twice and ” gamos ” which means marriage , together they form the definition of ” Double marriage “.

Origin of bigamy

In reality, the origin of bigamy emerged thousands of years ago in world history . We know that, from the Old Testament, we can find a series of passages and references that tell us stories about bigamy, for example, with Abraham, Jacob, David and Solomon who had more than one wife.

Some authors consider that it was born as a necessity of man. In ancient times, men were killed in wars or conquests, and women were generally helpless . When this happened, the family of the man who had the most friendship with the deceased took charge of the wife and the family .

In many countries this practice is more common than is believed, but what has not yet been understood is that women in other cultures, especially African and Islamic , do not necessarily see bigamy as a sign of degradation or insult against women.

However, this is very common and can even come to be seen in a natural way, the idea that married men have extramarital affairs with lovers, friends or prostitutes is gaining popularity. In the United States alone , it is estimated that between 23 and 50% of men and 13 – 50% of women have had an extramarital affair and more than 15% of husbands accept having had several relationships, and close to 70% of those married men under 40 expect to have them.

Bigamy as a crime

From the legal point of view, there are three different aspects, considered the most important to declare a state of bigamy, which in many countries is punishable by law . These three points to determine the existence of bigamy are the following:

• Contract a second or later marriage . Something that we understand better with the name of getting married, either by civil means or through religious rites recognized in our law .
• Have previously contracted a marriage .
• Be aware that the first marriage still exists, that is, that some situation that can predict the extinction of a marriage has not happened , such as the death of the spouse, divorce or the declaration of nullity of the marriage.

The crime of bigamy can be committed by men or by women , or in some cases it occurs by both parties.

Criminal code by country

• Colombia : in this country, bigamy is contemplated in the penal code which establishes penalties ranging from 1 to 4 years in prison . Despite the fact that some citizens have tried to fight with the law, it is still believed that bigamy is a crime because it violates the family and children. The penal code establishes it as follows: “He who is bound by a valid marriage contracts another, or who, being free, marries a validly married person , will incur in prison from 1 to 4 years.”
• Argentina : the laws on bigamy in Argentina are found in the Second Book of Family Relations , on the patrimonial regime of marriage. Despite this, bigamy is no longer punished in the criminal court as it is no longer considered a crime. Separations are made in writing and if there are children of the relationship, visitation regimes are established.
• Mexico : Article 13 of the criminal code of the Federal District of Mexico, establishes that there is a criminal responsibility with respect to all persons who have part in the conception, preparation or execution of a crime . This crime is typically formal, as shown in article 279 of the penal code , in which the punishment is imposed on the person who, being united to another in a marriage not dissolved or declared void, contracts a legal marriage with another person. In addition, this union for these situations will be declared null.

Countries where bigamy is legal

Although bigamy is prohibited in many countries, there are also many countries where it is legal and practiced . Some of them are the following:

Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Burma, Cameroon, Qatar, Chad, Congo, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Uganda, Yemen, Djibouti, Zaire, and Zambia are the countries where polygamy is legal .

Although it is not legalized in some places in the United States and Canada, it is practiced, mainly those where there are a large number of Mormons .