Priest counsels men to take a second wife for 'backup,' but women have beaten them to that

Catholic priest in Western Kenya encourages on polygamy.[Courtesy]

The Bible teaches about the virtues of turning the other cheek, which means submitting to those who wrong you, for you shall be rewarded one day.

But a Catholic priest in Western Kenya has a more nuanced interpretation: men with unsupportive spouses should waste no time and take a second wife!

Ordinarily, I’d be inclined to fact-check the source of such wisdom, seeing that the priest wouldn’t be speaking out of experience. After all, his job description precludes marriage. And those who do are kicked out of the church.

Still, the priest spoke with such deep conviction that one was inclined to sit and pay attention.

He said women who do not support their men in their quest to consolidate earthly possessions by making a contribution, or taking care of what has been acquired, could do with some “help.”

After all, he quoted the Bible, men need helpers.

I like the idea that the priest is not advocating abandonment; he’s only asking men to add more spouses to their households. There’s nothing controversial about that if you think about it, as there are constitutional provisions for polygamy. Indeed, about ten per cent of households in this great land are polygamous, the highest prevalence reported in Mandera County.

The only quibble that I’d have with the priest’s assessment is that the opposite is actually true: men seldom make or contribute to family wealth. On the contrary, it’s women who run most of their households, battling with the soil to produce food for their children.

The menfolk’s contribution, if any, is that the family land was bequeathed to them through inheritance, itself a relic of patriarchy.

Should cash crops be grown on those territories, it is women and children who toil their backs off as the menfolk roam in urban slums as drivers, cleaners, messengers and watchmen, only retreating home to pick a cheque for the produce since the land is registered in their names.

As for the menfolk left in the villages, they are too weak from drinking to perform any farm chores. At times, women seek help with some domestic chores, like procreation, as men have lost interest in that as well.