Antwerp: 45 polygamous marriages

Antwerp: 45 polygamous marriages

There are 45 men with two or more spouses in the Antwerp (Belgium) population and foreigner register.  This according to the response of alderman Monica de Coninck (sp.a) to a question by council member Wim Van Osselaer (Vlaams Belang).  The question was asked due to the registration of polygamous marriages in the Dutch cities Amsterdam and Rotterdam, a year ago.  Van Osselaer wanted to know how matters stood in his own hometown.

Spokesperson Eva De Wolf says that in total Antwerp has 45 men who said they had married two or more women in their land of origin.  These are mainly men from Morocco, Pakistan, Mauritania and other countries where polygamy is allowed.

She also adds that absolutely polygamous marriages aren't performed in Antwerp.  Whoever wants to marry in Belgium must show that he is free of any bonds of marriage.  "We register only polygamous marriages for non-Belgians in the population and foreigner register if that is permissible according to the law of their land of origin."  Moreover, De Wolf says that only one of the spouses can move to Belgium through family reunification.

Source: HLN (Dutch)

Source:
* Amsterdam: 173 polygamous marriages
* Netherlands: Statistics Netherlands to look at polygamous marriages
* Belgium: Opening a door to polygamy
* Belgium: Children from polygamous marriage can reunite with father
* Denmark: 46 polygamy cases

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