Category Archives: Polygamy

Before the Sister Wives star, Robyn Brown married Kody Brown, she was married to David Preston Jessop. Interestingly, Kody Brown and David Preston Jessop are related. Heres how Robyns current husband and ex-husbands family trees are intertwined.

Robyn and her ex-husband, David Jessop, married in 1999 when she was 21-years-old. They have three children together Dayton Brown, Aurora Brown, and Breanna Brown. Robyn and David Jessop divorced after 11 years of marriage in 2009.

In the Brown familys memoir, Becoming Sister Wives- The Story of an Unconventional Marriage, Robyn revealed why they divorced. Robyn wrote:

I tried my hardest to make the marriage work, both for our own sake and for the sake of the three children my ex-husband and I had together. But what started off as unstable disintegrated into something destructive. After seven and a half years of marriage, we separated. A year and a half later, we were divorced.

Both my marriage and its collapse were incredibly difficult for me. I suffered a lot of pain and hardship. I had been badly mistreated and misled by my ex-husband. While I knew that he was the source of a lot of my grief, part of me still believed that I was a failure because I hadnt been able to make my relationship work.

After her divorce in 2009, she met Kody at a church dance, and they began courting. On May 22, 2010, Kody and Robyn married spiritually. Then, Meri Brown divorced Kody so that he could legally marry Robyn with the purpose of adopting her children. Robyn and Kody legally married on Dec 11, 2014.

Many Sister Wives fans have pointed out how similar David Jessop and Kody Brown look (via Reddit). According toAshleys Reality Roundup, Kody and David are actually third cousins. Technically, Kody is blood-related to his adopted children from Robyns marriage to David.

As members of a small sect of TheFundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints(FLDS Church) called the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB) that promotes polygamy. Its no wonder that theyre related.

Not only is David related to Kody, but hes also related to Kodys wives, Meri Brown and Christine Brown. According to the site, David is Christines first cousin. And Meri is related to David through his father, Louis Jessops other wives.

Its no secret that the fundamentalist Mormons have some tangled family trees. Even the Brown familys trees have crossed over in many strange ways.

Sister Wives Season 16 One on One reunion episode airs Sunday, Jan 30 on TLC and discovery+.

RELATED: Sister Wives: Christine Reacts to Robyns Nanny Catching COVID I Just Chuckle a Little Bit at the Irony of It

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'Sister Wives': How Kody Brown and Robyn's Ex-Husband David Preston Jessop Are Related - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom finally comes out swinging with a really gripping scene for once! The discussion between Souma and Georg Carmine in the dungeon is basically what I have been waiting for. After countless weeks of near-prescient decision-making at every levelmacro, micro, and personalSouma finally faces a meaningful setback. Georg's actions were completely outside of Souma's control, and while he mitigated some of the damage he could not contain the fallout completely. This idea that actions have consequences, often unintended or unforeseen ones, is important in all fiction, but particularly in one where the management of a nation is the primary focus.

Simply put, there are a lot of moving parts to running a country. No one person can control every single step in a strategy or a policy, and even the correct course of action is often subject to dozens, if not hundreds, of mediating factors. Georg's actions are self-sacrificial and do blunt some of the impact of a mistake on that level, but nevertheless, Souma could not simply Machiavelli his way out of this one. What's done is done, and Georg paid the pricecosting Souma dearly.

I think the scene sells the emotion of the moment well. The gradual buildup in tension, the terrific performances from the VAs, the intensity of the music, the final shot of the bottle rolling away from Georgit all comes together perfectly. The one downside is that we don't really know all that much about Carmine before this scene, and haven't spent that much time with him either, so his death does not have the same impact that it could in that regard. Still, I have to give credit where it's due.

The remainder of the episode is more of the standard fare. Pretty typical humina humina I have so many wives whoaaaa stuff, played out in the most predictable fashion. If you like it when hordes of women want to marry the protagonist while also being cool with polygamy yet at the same time a little bit jealous of all the other wives they are totally cool with, then this episode got that in spades. For me, it was a weak and unremarkable end to what started as a very strong episode.

Rating:

Grant is the cohost on the Blade Licking Thieves podcast and Super Senpai Podcast.

How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom is currently streaming onFunimation.

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How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom Part 2 Episode 4 - Anime News Network

George Reynolds was a party toReynolds v. United States(1879), in which the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a federal law prohibitingpolygamydid not violate the free exercise clause of the First Amendment. The Courts decision was among the first to hold that the free exercise of religion is not absolute. (Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

In Reynolds v. United States, 98 U.S. 145 (1879), the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a federal law prohibiting polygamy did not violate the free exercise clause of the First Amendment. The Courts decision was among the first to hold that the free exercise of religion is not absolute.

The case began when George Reynolds, a resident of the Territory of Utah, was sentenced to two years at hard labor and assessed a $500 fine by a federal court for violating a federal anti-bigamy law. Congress had passed the statute against polygamy because it perceived that such a practice contravened good order and peace.

By practicing polygamy, Reynolds, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the Mormon Church), was following what was then one of the central tenets of his religion. Appealing his case to the Supreme Court, Reynolds argued that the anti-bigamy law was in direct violation of the First Amendments free exercise clause.

Although the Court agreed with Reynolds that the free exercise of religion underlay the founding of the United States, it also held that government officials have a right to regulate behavior as part of religious practices that are considered odious and violate basic notions of morality. Until the inception of the Mormon Church, the Court noted, the northern and western nations of Europe and every state had criminalized polygamy.

More important, the Court created a belief-action dichotomy for free exercise clause cases. It held that the federal government cannot interfere with a persons religious beliefs, except when a religious practice violates certain notions of health, safety, and morality commonly called police powers. Reynolds, therefore, had the freedom to believe in polygamy, but he could not practice it, because the action violated national police powers.

If the federal government could not regulate certain religious actions, the Court concluded, religious doctrines would become the superior law of the land. Indeed, in oft-cited language, Chief Justice Morrison Waite wrote: To permit this would be to make the professed doctrines of religious belief superior to the law of the land, and in effect to permit every citizen to becomea law unto himself. Government could exist only in name under such circumstances.

Since this case, the belief-action dichotomy created by the Court in Reynolds has become a central principle of free exercise clause jurisprudence.

Justices have cited this principle in cases such as:

This article was originally published in 2009. John Hermann has been a professor at Trinity University for the 25 years where he teaches on Civil Rights and Liberties. He is an expert in minority rights and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Link:

Reynolds v. United States | The First Amendment Encyclopedia

The Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act (37th United States Congress, Sess. 2., ch. 126, 12Stat.501) was a federal enactment of the United States Congress that was signed into law on July 8, 1862 by President Abraham Lincoln. Sponsored by Justin Smith Morrill of Vermont, the act banned bigamy in federal territories such as Utah and limited church and non-profit ownership in any territory of the United States to $50,000.[1]

The act targeted the Mormon practice of plural marriage and the property dominance of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in the Utah Territory. The measure had no funds allocated for enforcement, and Lincoln chose not to enforce this law; instead Lincoln gave Brigham Young tacit permission to ignore the Morrill Act in exchange for not becoming involved with the Civil War.[2] General Patrick Edward Connor, commanding officer of the federal forces garrisoned at Fort Douglas, Utah beginning in 1862, was explicitly instructed not to confront the Mormons over this or any other issue.[2]

The Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act was amended in 1882 by the Edmunds Act, and then again in 1887 by the EdmundsTucker Act.

Enforcement of these acts started in July 1887. The issue went to the Supreme Court in the case Late Corp. of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v. United States that upheld the EdmundsTucker Act on May 19, 1890. Among other things, the act disincorporated the LDS Church. Within five months, the LDS Church officially discontinued the practice of plural marriage with the 1890 Manifesto. On October 25, 1893, a congressional resolution authorized the release of assets seized from the LDS Church because, "said church has discontinued the practice of polygamy and no longer encourages or gives countenance to any manner of practices in violation of law, or contrary to good morals or public policy."[3]

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Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act - Wikipedia

Spoiler alert! This article contains spoilers for And Just Like That. Catch up before reading ahead.

Last week, And Just Like That marked the end of another era-defining relationship. Miranda and Steve are no more with the former in pursuit of a passionate tryst with Che. Is this budding romance doomed for failure before its even began?

Following Carrie and Bigs tragic conclusion, fans had to watch as Miranda uttered those dreaded words to long-time love Steve. She wants a divorce. The revelation comes as no surprise to viewers or Miranda for that matter. For weeks she has been drilling on to her pals about her desire for excitement and change and she finds it all in Carries boss, Che.

The pair began the revival by sharing flirtatious remarks, lingering looks, sensually shotgunning weed who said romance is dead? It was hard not to pick up on the implication being left by the writers; something was building between these two. Nothing actually goes any further until episode 5, and just like that, Miranda becomes a fully fledged adulterer.

Following the encounter, Miranda fails at reigniting the spark with Steve but continues to fantasize about her new lover. This is more than a quick romp in the kitchen. This isnt a mid-life crisis. Miranda is at last discovering her identity and she wants to explore the world with Che tinted glasses.

In episode 8, she and Che take a huge leap together theyre falling in love. It could be sweet if not for the weight hanging over their heads; Miranda is still married and Che pointedly assures they are unable to offer anything traditional before jetting off to Cleveland. Now, heres where the other shoe drops. Che was under the influence that Miranda was in an open-marriage and they were wholeheartedly okay with the idea, which begs the question: is Che the monogamous type?

There isnt much viewers actually know about their personal life so itd be difficult to pinpoint an answer. However, maybe their offer of non-traditional suggests they are not. Thats not to say they wouldnt be committed to a relationship with Miranda, just that settling down isnt entirely within their comfort zone. This would probably throw a damper on things because Miranda certainly doesnt scream polygamy perhaps this love affair is too good to be true.

What if Miranda arrives to Cleveland to find Che with someone else? Its highly plausible she will not be happy, leading to a blow out between the two. Theyre still in the honeymoon phase; the spark is intense because its unlike something Mirandas ever experienced; reality might come crashing down sooner than later for her. It could be the push she needs to reevaluate what she really wants out of life; she may even attempt to rekindle the flame with Steve thought it looks unlikely hell take her back so freely.

If the theory holds, its looking like Miranda will end the series single and figuring out where her path will lead. Thankfully, Harry and Charlotte are still going strong through all the drama so at least theres some hope to tide us over!

Watch new episodes ofAnd Just Like ThatHBO Max.Thursdays on

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And Just Like That: Is [spoiler]s new romance over before its began? - Hidden Remote

Marxist-Leninist icon Sankara and 12 colleagues were gunned down by a hit squad in 1987 during a coup that brought Sankara's former comrade, Blaise Compaore, to power.

Former Burkina Faso president Thomas Sankara. Picture: Wikipedia.

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso - After three months of hearings, the landmark trial into the assassination of Burkina Faso's 1980s revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara enters it final stage next Monday.

Marxist-Leninist icon Sankara and 12 colleagues were gunned down by a hit squad in 1987 during a coup that brought Sankara's former comrade, Blaise Compaore, to power. Compaore ruled the West African country for the next 27 years.

Here are some highlights from the a military court in the capital Ouagadougou. The proceedings are being followed avidly in Burkina, where the unpunished killings were a taboo subject during the Compaore years.

CONSPICUOUS BY THEIR ABSENCE

Twelve of the 14 suspects appeared in court when the trial began in October 2021, charged with complicity in murder, harming state security and complicity in the concealment of corpses.

But two of the key defendants -- Compaore himself and his then head of security, Hyacinthe Kafando -- have been conspicuous by their absence.

The former president, who was deposed by a popular uprising in 2014 and fled to neighbouring Ivory Coast, has always denied ordering Sankara's murder and is boycotting what his lawyers dismiss as a "political trial".

Kafando, who is accused of leading the commando that carried out the bloodbath at a meeting of Sankara's Revolutionary Council, has been on the run since 2016.

A third key suspect, 61-year-old general Gilbert Diendere, has categorically denied the charges against him, as have all but one of the other defendants.

Diendere, who became Compaore's right-hand man after the putsch, is already serving a 20-year sentence for a 2015 plot to overthrow the transitional government that replaced his former boss.

SOURING RELATIONS

Ballistics experts told the trial Sankara had been shot in the chest at least seven times by assassins using tracer bullets. When fired, the bullets ignite a burning powder, helping the shooter mark their target.

But the defendants said the victims died in a botched attempt to arrest Sankara after he and Compaore fell out over the direction the country's revolution was taking.

Sankara allies, including ex-military commander Blaise Sanou, accused Compaore -- whose bid to cling to office precipitated his 2014 downfall -- of being hungry for power in 1987.

But political analyst Valere Some said it was Sankara's decision to move to one-party rule that had sparked the rift between the two.

Sankara, still a revered figure for many, was an army captain, aged just 33, when he came to power in a 1983 coup.

A fiery revolutionary, he railed against imperialism and colonialism, often angering Western leaders but gaining followers across Africa and beyond.

He scrapped the country's French colonial name -- Upper Volta -- and pursued a socialist agenda of nationalisations and social reforms, including bans on female genital mutilation, polygamy and forced marriages.

ACCUSATIONS OF CONSPIRACY

In court, several of Sankara's former aides talked of an "international conspiracy" against a progressive leader who had sought to upend the world order and eradicate poverty in his landlocked state.

Felix Houphouet Boigny, the then president of Ivory Coast and a close ally of former colonial power France, was accused of being "central to the conspiracy".

Former Burkina television director Serge Theophile Balima said the late Ivorian leader had warned Sankara, "If you don't change, we'll do it for you."

LIKE SUICIDE

Other witnesses said there had been a terrible inevitability to Sankara's death.

"(It) was like suicide because he knew what was coming and he did nothing to prevent it," recalled Boukary Kabore, then commander of the advanced airborne battalion.

Sankara's security chief Famoro Ouattara said he "had been warned about the danger he faced", but had "never let anyone challenge Compaore militarily... It's as if he wanted to be killed."

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The landmark trial over death of Burkina revolutionary Sankara - Eyewitness News

This article is about the reality television series. For the 2000 Israeli documentary, see Sister Wife. For the general concept, see Polygamy.

21st-century American reality television series

Sister Wives is an American reality television series broadcast on TLC that premiered on September 26, 2010. The show documents the life of a polygamist family, which includes father Kody Brown, his four wives (Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn) and their 18 children. The family began the series living in Lehi, Utah but has since moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2011 and the unincorporated township of Baderville, Arizona (northwest of Flagstaff, Arizona) in mid-2018.[1][2]

Brown and his four wives have stated they participated in the show to make the public more aware of polygamist families and to combat societal prejudices. Brown believes his polygamist arrangement is legal because he is married legally to only one woman (Robyn), while the other marriages (to Meri, Janelle and Christine) are "spiritual unions".

The show follows the lives of Kody Brown, his wives Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn, and their 18 children.[3] In the first season, the show televised Kody's courting of and marriage to his fourth wife, Robyn, in 2010.[4][5][6] Robyn was the first new wife to enter the family in 16 years.[7]

The only legal marriages have been between Kody and Meri, until their legal divorce in September 2014, and Kody and Robyn from December 2014, in order for Kody to legally adopt Robyn's three children, Dayton, Aurora and Breanna. Kody's marriages to Janelle and Christine (for their entirety) and to Meri (after their legal divorce) are considered "spiritual unions".[5][8] As of 2020, Kody has been married (formerly legally and now spiritually) to Meri for 30 years, Janelle (spiritually only) for 27 years, Christine (spiritually only) for 26 years, and Robyn (formerly spiritually and now legally) for 10 years.[9] Kody and Meri have one daughter, Mariah. Kody and Janelle have six children: sons Logan, Hunter, Garrison and Gabriel, and daughters Madison and Savanah. Kody and Christine have six children: daughters Aspyn, Mykelti, Gwendlyn, Ysabel and Truely, and son Paedon.[10][11] Robyn has three children from her first marriage (which was monogamous): son Dayton, and daughters Aurora and Breanna. Kody legally adopted them in June 2015. Kody and Robyn have two biological children: son Solomon and daughter Ariella. Kody and his wives have three grandchildren, Axel and Evangalynn (both Madison's children), and a third from daughter Mykelti.

Meri, Christine and Robyn were all raised in polygamist families, but Janelle was raised in a monogamist family. Months before the marriage of Janelle and Kody, however, Janelle's mother entered into a polygamous marriage with Kody's father.[7] Although Christine's mother left the faith, she remains supportive of the family dynamic. The Brown family belonged to the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB), a Mormon fundamentalist group. For years before the series, the family kept their polygamist lifestyle what they called a "quasi-secret".[12]

In the Autumn of 2009, independent producers Timothy Gibbons and Christopher Poole approached Figure 8 Films, a North Carolinian company, with the concept of a reality series about the Brown family. Bill Hayes, the president of Figure 8 Films, said the company agreed to the idea after meeting with the Browns and deciding their lives would make a great story. Camera crews shot footage of the family in mid-2010 to be used in the first season,[12] ending in May with the marriage of Kody Brown and Robyn Sullivan.[13] The crews continued to film them afterwards in case the series was picked up for a second season. Sister Wives was publicly introduced on August 6, 2010 at the Television Critics Association summer media tour in Beverly Hills, California. The series' first episode, an hour long, was broadcast on TLC on September 26, 2010 and the first season continued with six half-hour chapters until October 17, 2010.[12][14]

The broadcast of Sister Wives came at a time when polygamy and multiple marriages were a prevalent topic in American pop culture. Big Love, the hit HBO series about fictional Utah polygamist Bill Henrickson, his three sister wives, and their struggle to gain acceptance in society, had already been on the air for several years. In early September 2010, the drama series Lone Star, about a con man on the verge of entering into multiple marriages, premiered on Fox but was quickly canceled after two episodes. When Sister Wives debuted, actress Katherine Heigl was in the process of developing a film about Carolyn Jessop, a woman who fled from a polygamist sect.[15]

In October 2010, TLC announced it had commissioned a second season, which began in March 2011.[16] A TLC interview with the Brown family was broadcast on October 31, 2010,[17] and a one-hour program featuring the honeymoon of Kody and Robyn Brown aired on November 22, 2010.[18]

The series led to the Brown family being investigated for possible prosecution. The family later sued the state of Utah, challenging its criminal polygamy laws. The Browns prevailed in the district court in a 2013 ruling, but a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ordered the case to be dismissed on standing grounds in 2016.[19]

Considering its sensational subject matter, TLC's "Sister Wives" has been refreshingly modest. The stars [have] a natural, honest presence in a genre fabled for the camera-hogging antics of Jersey Shore. Rather than merely emphasizing what's different about the Brown family most obviously, their "plural marriage" Sister Wives shows us how normal they seem: loving and good-natured around their children, occasionally prone to envy and feelings of betrayal.

Schuyler Velasco, Salon[20]

Sister Wives drew national media attention after its first season[21] and garnered generally mixed reviews from critics. Washington Post staff writer Hank Stuever called it "refreshingly frank" and found most interesting the small details of the family's everyday life, such as the food supply, division of labor, and minor arguments.[8] Los Angeles Times television critic Mary McNamara said she was intrigued by the matriarchal nature of the polygamist family, a unit that is traditionally considered patriarchal. McNamara said the wives form the center of the family and that "their bonds appear far stronger and more vital than the casual fondness with which they all treat Kody".[22] Salon writer Schuyler Velasco praised Sister Wives for introducing viewers to unfamiliar subject matter and called it "refreshingly modest" considering its controversial subject matter. Velasco said it has "a natural, honest presence in a genre fabled for the camera-hogging antics of Jersey Shore".[20] Shelley Fralic of The Vancouver Sun called it fascinating and surprising and was impressed with the sensible and articulate way in which the family defended their lifestyle.[7] When the Brown family made an October 2010 appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, talk show host Oprah Winfrey said she found particularly fascinating the relationship between the sister wives.[23]

Mark A. Perigard of the Boston Herald criticized Kody Brown for opening himself and his family up to potential criminal prosecution by appearing in the series, describing him as "a lawbreaker who is risking himself and the family he claims is so precious just to star in his own TV show".[9] Elizabeth Tenety of The Washington Post called the series "one part domestic drudgery, another part sensationalism" and claimed it relied on a "familiar reality TV recipe" shared by other TLC series such as 19 Kids and Counting and Kate Plus 8.[3] Religion Dispatches writer Joanna Brooks shared Tenety's perspective, criticizing the show for presenting polygamy in a manner that "is about as interesting to me as Kate Gosselin's latest makeover." In this vein Brooks criticized the show for not engaging the theology of plural marriage and for letting Kody Brown's superficial comments about the dissimilarity of Fundamentalist and mainstream Mormonism pass onto the viewers without any critical scrutiny or added nuance.[24] Shari Puterman, television columnist with the Asbury Park Press, felt the sister wives had issues with jealousy and self-worth, and she compared Kody to a cult leader. Puterman added, "I can't speak for everyone, but I believe in the sanctity of marriage. It's sad to see that TLC's capitalizing on people who don't."[25] Former prosecutor and television personality Nancy Grace criticized the show and said she believed Kody Brown should go to jail, but she expressed doubt he would, based on Utah's history of overlooking polygamy.[26] Christine Seifert, an associate professor of communications at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, said the show could give viewers who are unfamiliar with the LDS church the incorrect assumption that polygamy is accepted by the mainstream church.[21] Several commentators have taken notice of the fact that the family's religious convictions are downplayed in Sister Wives.[22][24][27]

According to Nielsen Media Research, the 26 September 2010 one-hour premiere episode of Sister Wives drew 2.26million viewers,[28] a strong rating for the network. It marked the biggest series debut for TLC since Cake Boss launched in 2009 and was a stronger rating than any of the season premieres for HBO's Big Love.[29] The remaining episodes of the first season were each half an hour long, with two broadcast together each Thursday. In the second week, the first episode drew 1.88million viewers, while the second drew 2.13million.[30] The third week drew similar results, with 1.89million viewers watching the first episode and 2.05million watching the second.[31] Sister Wives drew its strongest ratings during the fourth and final week of the first season, with 2.67million viewers for the first episode and 2.74million for the season finale.[14] As a result of the 2.7million average viewership for the two episodes, TLC ranked first among all ad-support cable channels in the 1849 and 2554 age groups. The series drew double- and triple-digit ratings gains in all key demographics and ranked second in ad-supported cable network shows during its time period.[32]

Kody Brown, along with his wives, filed a legal case in the United States federal courts challenging the State of Utah's criminal polygamy law.[33] The Browns prevailed in the district court in a 2013 ruling, but a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ordered the case to be dismissed on standing grounds in 2016.[34] The Tenth Circuit concluded that, because local Utah prosecutors had a policy of not pursuing most polygamy cases in the absence of additional associated crimes (e.g., welfare fraud or marriage of underage persons), the Browns had no credible fear of future prosecution and thus lacked standing.[35][36]

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Sister Wives - Wikipedia

KATHMANDU, JANUARY 1

Nepal Police record shows that 9,240 cases of crime against women were recorded with the police in the past five months across the country.

Among the various nature of crimes, 7,329 complaints registered with the police were related to domestic violence.

The heinous crime of rape was rampant, wherein a total number of 993 girls and women above 18 and 104 young girls were raped. In average, almost three women were raped every day and one girl was raped in almost every three days across the country in the past five months, as per data.

Similarly, a total of 331 rape attempt complaints were filed with the police during this period.

Another largely prevalent crime against women was polygamy.

As many as 351 cases of polygamy were registered with the police in the past five months. Similarly, 19 cases of child marriage, 76 cases of women trafficking, 12 cases of unnatural sex and 25 cases of witchcraft violence were registered with the police.

Despite such a high number of crimes against women, Nepal Police record shows that these crimes are declining.

A comparative research of similar crimes during the same period last year shows that majority of these crimes have dropped significantly.

For instance, a total of 1,096 women were rape victims from mid-July to mid-December in 2020.

A comparative study of two data during the similar period of the year shows that the incidents of rape have decreased by almost 10 per cent this year compared to last year.

Similarly, witchcraft violence declined by 32 per cent in the first five months of 2020.

As many as 37 cases of witchcraft violence were recorded during that period.

Similar data on cases of child molestation and child rape decreased by over 32 per cent in the first five months of the current fiscal. In the first five months of the last fiscal, 37 cases of child rape and molestation were recorded.

Crimes against women registered to the police are said to be just the tip of an iceberg.

Quite often, the victims or their family members don't come forward to report such crimes to police.

Mostly, perpetrators of domestic violence go unpunished in the country as majority of women choose to keep silent rather than report such incidents to the police.

A version of this article appears in the print on January 2, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.

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Over 9,000 crimes against women in five months - The Himalayan Times

NEWCASTLE, United Kingdom A Stone Age tomb is giving the world a look at the human races oldest known single extended family, according to a new study. Researchers in the United Kingdom say they found DNA from Stone Age Britons who lived in the nations West Country about 5,700 years ago.

Mapping DNA from the bones and teeth of these individuals reveals 27 of the 35 bodies were close biological relatives. This includes five continuous generations that descended from four women, who all had children with the same man.

Study authors note that polygamy and adoption were common in this era. The group lived around 3700 to 3600 BC a century after scientists believe early humans started farming. Scientists discovered the bodies in a burial monument (a long cairn) on the edge of the Cotswolds-Severn region in the U.K.

This study gives us an unprecedented insight into kinship in a Neolithic community, says first author Dr. Chris Fowler of Newcastle University in a media release.

The tomb at Hazleton North has two separate chambered areas, one accessed via a northern entrance and the other from a southern entrance, and just one extraordinary finding is that initially each of the two halves of the tomb were used to place the remains of the dead from one of two branches of the same family. This is of wider importance because it suggests that the architectural layout of other Neolithic tombs might tell us about how kinship operated at those tombs.

Researchers add the cairn is the best-preserved Neolithic tomb in the country. Their study is the first to reveal the structure of prehistoric families in detail.

The findings, published in the journal Nature, also provide new insights into the kinship and burial practices of our Stone Age ancestors. The cairn more than 350 feet long and up to six feet high had two L-shaped areas north and south of the main spine.

Early humans laid their relatives to rest inside these chambers, with men generally lying next to their fathers and brothers. This suggests Stone Age society was patrilineal, with later generations lying in the tomb based on their connection to their male forefathers.

The team also discovered two female family members who died during childhood. However, a complete absence of adult daughters suggests their bodies are in the tombs of male partners with whom they had children.

The choice of burial in the north or south chamber appears to be dependent on who the first-generation woman descends from. It indicates these women were socially significant in the memories of the community. Early humans may have also welcomed step-sons into their family, according to the team.

There were males whose mothers were buried in the tomb, but not their biological fathers. These women also had children with a man descended through the male line.

However, the eight who were not biological relatives of those in the family tree show that being a blood-relative was not a requirement for entry into this tomb. Study authors note three of these were women who may have had a partner in the tomb. They either did not have any children or had daughters who reached adulthood and left the community.

The excellent DNA preservation at the tomb and the use of the latest technologies in ancient DNA recovery and analysis allowed us to uncover the oldest family tree ever reconstructed and analyze it to understand something profound about the social structure of these ancient groups, says co-first author Iigo Olalde of the University of the Basque Country in Spain.

The study hints at a polygamous society where adoption was common and paternal and maternal lines of descent were important.

This study reflects what I think is the future of ancient DNA: one in which archaeologists are able to apply ancient DNA analysis at sufficiently high resolution to address the questions that truly matter to archaeologists, adds co-author Prof. David Reich of Harvard University.

Scientists believe the Neolithic period was a time of human advancement where farming took hold and sedentary civilization became feasible. Farming culture made its way to Britain thanks to migrants from Europe around 4,000 BC enabling the abandonment of hunter-gatherer lifestyles.

They brought with them agricultural techniques and the previously untamed landscape quickly became more ordered. This period ended around 2500 BC, leading into the Bronze Age.

It was difficult to imagine just a few years ago that we would ever know about Neolithic kinship structures. But this is just the beginning and no doubt there is a lot more to be discovered from other sites in Britain, Atlantic France, and other regions, concludes co-author Prof. Ron Pinhasi of Vienna University.

South West News Service writer Mark Waghorn contributed to this report.

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Ancient DNA in a Stone Age tomb reveals the worlds oldest family tree - Study Finds

Perhaps the most unique sacrament of the Catholic Church is marriage. For it is an institution that is often associated more with the secular world than the religious or spiritual realm. To be sure, marriage as an institution is inclusive of law, anthropology, and history.

Nevertheless, in the following discourse, I will seek to survey the different forms marriage has taken in history, and how the Bible views marriage. Lastly, I will discuss marriage as a sacrament of the Catholic Church.

As is often the case, the secular and the religious are in conflict, which is true even when attempting to define a subject. Perhaps the model secular definition of marriage was provided by the Finnish sociologist Edvard Westermarck, who defined marriage as a relation of one or more men to one or more women that is recognized by custom or law. (See The Future of Marriage in Western Civilization). This definition is helpful within an anthropological setting.

Historically, marriage has taken many forms, from a legal contract to a social union, to a religious covenant. More often than not, marriage in the ancient world had little to do with God or romance and much more to do with economics and the propagation of bloodlines. Indeed, marriages were often arranged along purely economic grounds and tocreate bonds between families. This practice of arranged marriages remains part of the milieu in various parts of the world today.

While marriage is usually between a single man and a single woman, it has also taken place between two men, between two women, a man and multiple women (polygyny), and a woman and multiple men (polyandry). (See Dartmouth College, Department of Anthropology, Course 50:17).

God said, it is not good for man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him. (Genesis 2:18). This suitable helpmate was formed from the very rib of man, and thus woman was flesh of his flesh (Genesis 2:22-23).

If one contemplates the fact that the Bible begins with the creation of man and woman in the image and likeness of God and concludes with a vision of the wedding-feast of the Lamb, then the significance that the authors of the Bible placed on marriage comes into relief.

Nevertheless, marriages in Biblical times were quite different from the marriages of the modern world. Very often, marriages were arranged and it was not uncommon for a young woman to be given by a family member in marriage, often by her father.

However, the most striking characteristic of marriages in the Old Testament was that of polygamy. Indeed, several prominent men of the Old Testament had multiple wives. In 1 Kings 11:3, we read that King Solomon had seven hundred wives. Still, this practice of polygamy, very often like marriage in general, had economic considerations at its heart. The inferior economic status of women of the ancient world often necessitated that women find a husband that could support her as well as her children.

Suffice to say that marriage within the Biblical world was very much influenced by culture and economics and very often seemed to be one of a contractual obligation.

Contrary to the concept of marriage as a contractual obligation, Catholicism asserts that marriage is a sacrament. Indeed, Saint Paul compares the marriage of a man and a woman to the relationship of Christ and His Church. (See Ephesians 5:23-32).

The Catholic Church describes marriage as a mystery instituted by God. (See Part Two, Section Two, Chapter Three, Article Seven of the Catechism of the Catholic Church).

To understand why this is so, we must understand that Catholicism asserts that God created man out of love and, in turn, mans most fundamental and innate vocation is to love. Moreover, as man is created in the image and likeness of God, and God is Himself love, marriage is intended to reflect the absolute and unfailing love with which God loves man.

Still, it would not be until the Council of Verona in 1184 that marriage would rise to the level of a sacrament (See Systematic Theology by Francis Schussler Fiorenza and John P. Gavin). As sacraments are defined as an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace (as defined by Saint Augustine), then it is the words of Jesus Himself that gave marriage its sacramental state. For we read in Matthew 19:4-6, Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.

Put another way, The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, section 1601).

So although the modern person tends to view marriage within a strictly secular framework, a comprehensive understanding of marriage must admit that the author of marriage is God Himself.

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Marriage and Sacrament | David Schloss - Patheos