>From: Jane Warner <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list              <[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Re: question >Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2004 08:49:45 -0800 > >This question has elicited a lot of fascinating information and I'm very >interested by everyone's responses . > >I wonder under what conditions Gambian women, in the current or in past >generations, have felt content with a marriage with co-wives?  There was >mention that rates of polygamy go down as education goes up.  This doesn't >seem surprising to me.  Yet, when you look at marriage in US society, it >is often not very edifying, what with conflict, abuse, neglect and >abandonment being all too common.  Perhaps our divorce rate is just >polygamy in another guise? > >In the minds of most Americans, I think polygamy could be a synonym for >sexual infidelity.  But what interests me about it is how it relates to >traditions, both Islamic and cultural, and if it holds a key to the proper >provision of the needs of men, women and children living in a community. > >From my limited experience, it has seemed to me that relations >between Gambian men and women are marked by a degree of formality and >separation.  I have wondered if that structure (if that is what it is) >has something to teach us in the US, where I think men/woman relations are >often characterized by suspicion and neediness, even to the point of >contempt.  I also think that these characteristics have a negative impact >on the work of families--to raise children, and on the possibility of >community, that rarest of rare things in American life. > >Jane > > >*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^* > >Jane Zainab Warner-Tholley >University of Washington >Seattle, Washington  98195 > > >*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l >To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: >[log in to unmask] > >To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface >at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~