Monthly Archives: February 2021

While polygamy in Thailand isnt as prevalent as it was a century ago and the marriages arent recognised under Thai law, the lifestyle is still practiced by some. Thai media reporters recently interviewed a polygamous trio and apparently life is good, according to the husband with 2 wives. The wives didnt seem to do much talking in the interview.

Reporters from the Thai news outlet Sanook spoke with 44 year old Wacharatorn Tum Sironam about his taboo family arrangement. The trio have been living together for 7 years. Tum says his family is perfectly happy, they have no arguments and they work together to care for Tums 4 children, 2 from each wife.

Tum has nicknames for his wives which translate to big wife and little wife. In the past, Thai law assigned women in polygamy marriages a certain category.

Polygamy in Thailand could be freely practiced before 1 October 1935. Polygamy was recognised under civil law. The old family law assigned wives to three categories, in accordance with the way they became wives. (The official wife known as mia klang muang, the minor wife known as mia klang nok, and slave wives known as mia klang thasi.)

While polygamy has since been abolished, it is still alive in Thailand. Wikapedia

Worapat Pla Sroinam, who has been with Tum for 18 years, is called the big wife. Tum says their love has remained strong over the years. One day, Tum told her he wanted another wife to join the family.

Pla was shocked, but said it would be okay as long as Tum loved them both the same, Tum says. He then spoke with Kochakorn Wan Tapchom, admitted that he was married and asked her to be his little wife.

The family now runs a noodle shop in Ratchaburi province, west of Bangkok, where they sell noodle soup for 10 baht. The Pla and Wan each receive 10,000 baht per month to help with the family business.

SOURCE: Thai Residents

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Polygamy is not under Thai law, but the lifestyle is still practiced - The Thaiger

Having friends as a family is important. It allows the parents to chill with adults and for children to make friends their own age, ensuring that everyone gets some time away from each other while still enjoying time as a family. So, when you're a part of a polygamist home, what kind of family friends do you have? The answer is other polygamists, of course.

This episode of 'Sister Wives' sees Kody Brown and his family meet the Dargers, their friends and a polygamist family in Utah. Utah brings out mixed feelings in the hearts of the Browns, seeing that not too long ago they had to leave the state on account of the fact that polygamy is a criminal offense here. However, the Dargers have fought tirelessly to protect their lifestyle. So, who are the Dargers?

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A fifth-generation polygamist, Joe is an entrepreneur who runs a construction company and a real estate development company. Although only legally married to Alina, he also considers Vicky and Valerie to be his wives. The four of them have 20 children together and five step-children, seeing that Valeries was previously a part of another polygamist family. He is also the grandfather to 17 children.

The family is no stranger to reality TV, seeing that they have been featured on the show before, alongside starring in a documentary titled 'My Three Wives'. Their lives also served as inspiration for the HBO series 'Big Love'.

The Darger family takes the concept of sister wives quite seriously. Joe married cousins Alina and Vicky together, on the same day back in 1990. He then went on to marry Valerie in 2000, who was in a previous marriage but got a divorce. Here's where it gets interesting. Vicky and Valerie are twin sisters. In an article by Huffington Post, Valerie addressed why she married her twin's husband.

"The fact that Joe was married to Vicki didn't bother me at all. I took it as a sign he would be a good husband for me as well," she said, justifying her choice. "As teenagers, Vicki and I liked some of the same guys. I thought it might even be good if we married the same man." Vicki hosts a podcast by the name 'Moms I Love' and also works as a bookkeeper. Valerie and Alina work for a family-owned residential and commercial cleaning service.

The state of Utah recognizes polygamy as a criminal offense. This makes even consenting polygamist families felons who risk being arrested and prosecuted. The issue is far worse than being tried and getting sentenced to jail. Polygamist families are afraid to contact social services or ambulances. Under the banner 'Families not Felons', polygamist families such as the Dargers and the Browns protested it.

In early 2020, polygamy in Utah was decriminalized, allowing these families to live freely. In the past, Joe Darger has even gone as far as to dare prosecutors to charge him. However, as reported bySalt Lake Tribune, the Utah Attorney General's Office maintained that its policy is to not prosecute consenting adults whose only crime is bigamy, seeing that the real issue is polygamists who commit fraud and abuse. But seeing that it is now decriminalized, it looks like the family can live in peace.

Their friends, the Browns, however, have no intention of returning to Utah. At least for now, that is. Seeing that the family is falling apart, only time will tell what lies ahead for the Browns.

Catch new episodes of 'Sister Wives' Season 15 on Sundays at 10/9c on TLC.

Originally posted here:

Who are the Dargers? Meet the family on 'Sister Wives' who fought to decriminalize polygamy in Utah - MEAWW

Sister Wives returned to TLC on Feb. 14 at 10 p.m. EST and the Brown family appeared to be more divided than ever amid the COVID-19 crisis and ongoing problems in their polygamous marriage. Heres what went down between Kody Brown and his four wives (Meri, Janelle, Christine, and Robyn Brown) on the Sister Wives season premiere.

The Brown family has wrestled with the aftermath of various moves from Utah to Las Vegas and from Vegas to Flagstaff, Arizona since their very first season on TLC. The new season of Sister Wives looks like it will be no exception.

Kodys fourth wife, Robyn, still wasnt sold on the idea of owning a home in Flagstaff. With the Browns scattered all over the city and hardly seeing each other, she said she was still praying to find an available rental.

Still, Kody and his wives were no closer to building one home or building homes at all on their large joint property in Arizona, Coyote Pass. For now, they were still very much separated, and admitted they felt like they were four different families.

RELATED: Sister Wives: Fans Criticize the Browns BusinessesStop Doing MLMs

Maddie Brown Brush (Janelle and Kodys daughter) and her husband, Caleb Brush, introduced their daughter, Evangalynn Kodi Brush the couples second child after the birth of their son, Axel to the rest of the family on the Sister Wives season premiere. Kody and his wives oohed and aahed over the adorable baby.

Of course, the Sister Wives family admitted they were also sometimes concerned about Evangalynns health and future. The little girl was born with FATCO syndrome, a genetic condition that affects the growth of the bones in her extremities. Janelle explained that Evie might need surgery when she was about a year old, which would naturally worry any grandparent.

Despite their worries, Maddie and Caleb said they were more than ready to advocate for their daughter and to teach her to advocate for herself as well.

RELATED: Sister Wives: Maddie Brown Brush Just Revealed This Heartbreaking Truth About Her Baby

The new season of Sister Wives looks like it will face some of the marital issues between Kody and his wives head-on. Kodys second wife, Janelle, called a meeting between all five of the Brown adults. She asked each of her sister wives to explain why theyd entered polygamy.

For Kodys first wife, Meri, and his third wife, Christine both of whom will struggle in their relationships with Kody this season the answer was primarily religion. Polygamy, which they often refer to as plural marriage, is a core principle of their fundamentalist Mormon sect (the Apostolic United Brethren, or AUB). For Robyn and Janelle, their answers mostly had to do with being part of a large family and community.

But that sense of togetherness just wasnt happening anymore, they all agreed. In fact, they hadnt all sat down together in months.

Janelle placed the blame on the familys decision to go public and the scrutiny (both in the media and legal system) that ensued. The Browns were forced out of Utah due to a criminal investigation about their practice of polygamy. After they moved to Las Vegas, they could never recapture what they once had as a singular family unit.

But Robyn fretted that this really came down to her inclusion in the family. Asking her sister wives to address the pink elephant in the room, she wondered, Are you guys saying its because of me coming into the family?

Robyns sister wives adamantly denied thats what they meant. Janelle jumped up to give her youngest sister wife a hug, while Christine agreed, No, I think its Vegas, is what happened.

RELATED: Sister Wives: Fans Criticize Christine Brown For Her COVID-19 Choices

As for Kody, he had a unique take on the issue of plural marriage. Although hed always been an activist for polygamous families, he announced that he no longer wanted to advocate for polygamy. Now, more than ever, he said he recognized the inherent unfairness in the relationship. And, seeing his wives so unhappy much of the time, he didnt feel right promoting the practice anymore.

The problems between Kody and his wives were also readily apparent on the Sister Wives season premiere. Kodys first wife, Meri, was reserved and mostly silent.

Meanwhile, Kody and Christine traded a few jabs over dinner. When she pointed out that she only saw her husband one or two nights a week, she couldnt help adding that he seemed to be on his phone most of that time, anyway.

Im just always looking for a fight, apparently, Kodys third wife quipped.

But Kody hinted at even deeper troubles in his relationships. He admitted that he did spend too much time on his phone but he did so deliberately, in order to avoid engaging when he knew it would just end up in a fight.

The rest of the season teased more conflict in the Browns complicated relationships, with a few moments in which some of the wives seemed to reach their breaking point.

Read more:

What Happened on the Season Premiere of Sister Wives? - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

Polygamy is associated with the Muslim population. Why do you say it is a myth?Polygamy is not confined to Muslims alone. The Status of Women in India report of 1975, the only study on this so far, shows that all communities in India are polygamous. Interestingly, the least polygamous were the Muslims. I studied the census from 1930 onwards and found that in every census, Muslims were the least polygamous, followed by the Hindus. In any case, in both communities, polygamy was going down. Secondly, that polygamy leads to population growth is also a myth. Polygamy has its own limit in India statistically. In India, for 1000 men, there are 943 women. Statistically, no man in India has a full wife but a 0.9 wife. So where is the second woman coming from for polygamy?

Which community is the most polygamous?Tribal communities have 16% polygamy, Hindus are 5.8% and Muslims are 5.7%.

The next myth you deal with is the one which says Muslims dont believe in family planning.This was a belief that both Hindus and Muslims had. Before I accidentally started this study 25 years ago, even I believed Islam is against family planning. But when I studied the subject I found that nowhere does the Quran prohibit it. In fact, there are interpretations which, according to my conclusion, show that not only is Islam not against family planning, Islam is a pioneer of family planning. It is surprising and remarkable that 1,400 years ago, when there was no population pressure anywhere in the world, the Quran was talking about planned families. For instance, a verse in the Quran says: Young men you should marry when you can afford it, when you can bring up a family. One person seeks a clarification from the Prophet and asks: Im a poor man but I have sexual needs so what should I do? The Prophet repeats the words of the Quran and tells him to try fasting as that represses sexual desire. These two verses of the Quran are, according to me, a recommendation to family planning. In another verse, a man with many children says he doesnt want to have any more. At that time, the only family planning method was the withdrawal method called Al Azl and this man wanted to practise it. However, he says that the Jew had called the method a form of infanticide. The Prophet tells him the Jew lied. This means even this method is allowed. There are other verses as well, which means we have made a mistake in the interpretation. The only thing that every interpretation prohibits is sterilisation. Yet, more than 20% of Muslims have adopted sterlisation. They have gone out of the way, even violating Islamic principles for family planning.

What about the Muslim birth rate being the highest?The allegations from the right wing have been that the Muslims have been multiplying fast as an organised conspiracy. I admit that the Muslim birth rate is the highest and demography has changed in the last 70 years. 84% Hindus has come down to 79.8% and Muslims have gone up from 9.8% to 14%. But Muslims are catching up fast with family planning and they will not overtake Hindus in birth rate. After 60 years, there was 4.2% increase in the Muslim population; the projection is that in 2100, Muslims will become 18% of the population. There is no question of Muslims overtaking. Professor Dinesh Singh, former VC of Delhi University, who is an expert, studied the data and said that they can never overtake the Hindus.

So the slogan Hindu Khatre mein Hai (Hindus are endangered) is fake news?Absolutely fake news; it seems to be mischievous propaganda. Likewise with Hum Paanch, Hamaare Pachees (We are five, and 25 are ours) or Hum chaar, hamare chalees (We are four, and 40 are ours). I want to challenge them -- give me one Muslim with four wives and 25 children; one in a population of 1.3 billion!

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Interview: SY Quraishi, author, The Population Myth: Islam, Family Planning and Politics in India - Hindustan Times