A Muslim leader says men have a social responsibility to take a second wife to liberate women from being spinsters.
Islamic Friendship Association of Australia founder Keysar Trad says women can benefit from joining a polyamorous relationship when there’s a shortage of eligible men.
‘If a woman is interested in him and if his wife is okay with that situation, then it becomes his duty towards society to do his bit,’ he told Daily Mail Australia on Monday.
Keysar Trad says men taking on a second wife are liberating women from the spinsterhood
Islamic Friendship Association founder says women benefit from joining polyamorous union
‘They’ll have a husband. A lot of people think about it as the man getting the benefit.
‘I don’t see it as the man getting the advantage. It is about a man taking up a social responsibility.’
Mr Trad, who has previously called for polygamy to be allowed in Australia to accommodate an aspect of Sharia law, now says he doesn’t want the law changed to allow men to have multiple wives despite personally supporting the concept.
Instead, he wants married men to have multiple female partners at the same time, without society judging them harshly.
Keysar Trad, who opposes gay marriage, now insists he isn’t pushing for polygamy in Australia
The Muslim leader says it’s better for a women to become a second wife than be a spinster (stock image)
‘Society will stigmatise the man, society has stigmatised the man a lot in these situations but what I’m saying here is the woman should not be stigmatised,’ he said.
‘There are a number of women who opt for these plural relationships because they give them the best of what they want out of life and they still have the benefit of a relationship.’
Mr Trad, who was previously president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, told his Facebook followers husbands who took second wives were mature men doing their bit for women.
‘Few seem to get it, taking a second wife is a huge sacrifice imposed on the man and is a great liberator of women, it makes him less of a dependent child and more like a man who knows that he has a responsibility to alleviate spinsterhood,’ he said.
Keysar Trad says men taking on a second wife are exercising a form of social responsibility
The Muslim leader (pictured with wife Hanifeh) previously said men should be allowed four wives in Australia
However, Mr Trad declined to support the idea of women having multiple husband because that was against Islam.
‘There are religions that allow that. Good luck to them. My religion doesn’t,’ he said.
Polyandry. where women can have multiple husbands, is practised in remote villages in India.
Mr Trad is also a Muslim leader campaigning against gay marriage as Australians take part in a $122 million postal vote survey on the issue.
His wife Hanifeh last year insisted she would not mind if her husband married another woman, saying she has no right to stand in his way.
He told the Seven Network the law should be changed in Australia to allow men to have up to four wives.