BIGAMY AND WOMEN’S LAND RIGHTS: THE CASE OF OROMIA AND SNNP NATIONAL REGIONAL STATES

Abstract

While carrying out a research for the Ethiopian Institution of the Ombudsman
on women’s land rights in selected regions of Ethiopia, I came across some
puzzling facts relating to women’s rights. They related to multiple marriages,
technically called polygamous marriages, which are prohibited by law as a
crime of bigamy. Bigamy is an act where more than one marriage is concluded
by a person at the same time, whether by a man or a woman.1 Based on
regional family laws as well as the federal law on the matter2, a person shall
not conclude a new marriage as long as s/he is bound by a bond of a preceding
marriage.3