By Faten Omar

KUWAIT: Trending on Twitter, the hashtag #Second_Wife has gone viral, highlighting the pros and cons of having a second wife. In Islamic law, a man is allowed to take up to four wives, but he has to treat them all equally in terms of financial support, time spent with them and emotional care. However, even though polygamy is permissible, it is subject to certain conditions and restrictions. When it comes to having a second wife in Kuwait, it varies depending on the individual’s circumstances.

Ghalia, who is a second wife, told Kuwait Times that as a divorcee and due to her needs as a woman, and to support her child, she was forced to be a secret second wife. She said she has a constant feeling of rejection as a second wife, which is an obstacle to her success and achieving her goals, as the second wife is rejected in society and accused of not being a good person. Meanwhile, Talal Abdullah told Kuwait Times that the second wife in Kuwaiti society is classified into several types. “Marrying a second wife can be a marriage of desire by men who do not want the responsibility of a proper marriage or do not want to indulge in forbidden relations,” he said.

“The second type of marriage is marrying women in foreign countries. Many Kuwaitis do not want their wives to know. So they have a wife abroad to avoid problems inside the home, while others may take a second wife due to childbearing problems with the first,” he noted. While differences of opinion circulated on Twitter on this issue, Huda Al-Ghanim tweeted: “My advice to all first wives is to make sure to spend all your husband’s money so that they do not think about a second wife!” Ahmed Khalaf said due to the spread of this hashtag, men have begun to dislike marrying a second wife. “You made the second wife appear as a bogeywoman.

Let people live their lives as they want, because people’s needs differ from one another,” he commented. Mansour addressed men by saying: “Dear man, you are free. You are the one who determines your fate. Do not let the first wife dictate your decisions, to do or not. Set yourself free from her chains and marry the second.” Zamer Al-Ghamdi said a second wife brings nothing but a headache. “Stay with the mother of your children, and every 10 years ask her to undergo plastic surgery to look like the one you love!”

For his part, Hamad confirmed in his tweet: “If women knew that marriage at an old age exposes them to having an autistic child, I expect most of them will accept to be the second wife at a young age”, stressing that a second wife is necessary for a man if he reaches the age of 40 and wants to continue living his life happily. Jawaher wondered why some women do not show romance, love and kindness, except when a man takes a second wife, wondering about their motives. “This kind of woman does these actions intending to sabotage the marriage of the second wife, or due to hormones that increase after her husband’s second marriage,” she said.