Polyandry is rare but real. From India and Nepal to Kenya and Sri Lanka, see places where women marry multiple husbands today.
Marriage is usually seen as one man and one woman. But in some parts of the world, the reverse of polygamy exists. It is called polyandry.
Polyandry means one woman is married to two or more men at the same time. It is much rarer than polygyny where a man marries many wives. Research shows it is mostly documented among small and relatively isolated communities around the world.
This practice is not new. It has deep cultural roots and it still happens today, both under customary law and in a few places under formal law.
Where is it explicitly recognized by law?
Explicit legal recognition of polyandry by state law is exceedingly rare worldwide. One notable exception is Sri Lanka, where polyandry is protected under the Kandyan Marriage Law. This legal framework permits women to be married to multiple men, often beginning as a monogamous relationship that later expands with the wife's consent.
In Sri Lanka however, polyandry is actually protected under law. Under the Kandyan Marriage Law, women are permitted to be married to multiple men. This makes it one of the few places where the law itself does not punish the union.
In most other countries, the law is different. Legal recognition means the state formally sanctions the union, granting participants specific rights and responsibilities, such as inheritance, property ownership, and the legal recognition of children. Customary marriages based on community traditions might permit polyandry, but they often lack those protections.
In fact, polyandry is not legally recognized in the vast majority of countries. In the United States, Canada and most of Europe, marrying an additional spouse while still married is classified as bigamy, a criminal offence.
Himalayan belt: India, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and China
The strongest concentration of polyandry is along the Himalayan plateau.
In Tibet, Nepal and parts of India, it often takes the form of fraternal polyandry, with a woman marrying two or more brothers. In fraternal polyandry, all the brothers in one generation share a common wife. Economic factors drive this custom, as it helps prevent the division of scarce land and resources among multiple heirs, thereby maintaining family stability.
In India, the practice is prevalent among the Paharis in the Jaunsar-Bawar region of Uttarakhand and in Kinnaur, Himachal. Fraternal polyandry is mainly in practice in villages where societies are male dominated and still follow ancient rituals. The Toda tribe of Nilgiris and some communities in Kerala also practised it historically.
Recent reports show a rise in agrarian societies in Malwa region of Punjab to avoid division of farming land.
Polyandry is de facto the norm in rural areas of Tibet, although it is illegal under Chinese family law. Among Tibetans in northern China and India, the practice is based on the belief that a child can have more than one father and, usually when two or more brothers marry one woman, they all have equal sexual access to her. Families who are poor keep their small farmlands together by marrying the same woman.
In Bhutan, polyandry is also known among the Brokpa people of Merak and Sakteng in eastern Trashigang.
Nepal officially prohibited polyandry in 1963, but it persists. People in the Humla, Dolpa, and Kosi regions value their traditions far more than the law. There are entire villages of polyandrous families there.
Africa: Nigeria and Kenya
Africa also has documented cases.
The Irigwe tribe of Nigeria allowed women to take cohusbands, but they did not all have to live in the same household. The Irigwe people of Nigeria practiced polyandry for many decades until it was voted to outlaw in 1968. Before that, women were allowed to have co-husbands and moved freely from one man's house to another.
In Kenya, the law does not explicitly forbid polyandry. In August 2013, Kenya witnessed a case where two men decided to be husbands to a woman they both loved. There have also been reported cases among the Maasai people of Kenya.
Why do communities practise it?
Three reasons appear repeatedly. Culture, demography and resources.
In places with harsh terrain and little farmland, sharing one wife among brothers prevents land from being split into tiny, unproductive plots. It also reduces the cost of marriage and keeps wealth in one family.
For some, it is also about paternity beliefs and social alliances. And in very small populations, it is a way to manage population growth.
Polyandry is disappearing in many areas due to education, urban migration and modern legal systems. But in remote villages of Humla, Kinnaur, and rural Tibet, it is still seen as normal and even preferred.
It remains a powerful reminder that marriage does not look the same everywhere.
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