Report says That Eritrean Law Requires Men To Marry Two Wives Is False

Reports that the Eritrean government issued a
decree requiring all men to marry two women,
or face imprisonment, are false.
This story was
published by several African media
organizations following two days of intense
interest on news websites and social media.
According to conversations SaharaReporters
had with experts and Eritrean government
representatives on Wednesday, the report is
now understood to be a rumor originating on
social media that later became extremely
popular. The rumor later found its way to news
websites in Nigeria and across Africa.
On Wednesday morning, a SaharaReporters
correspondent spoke with a Eritrean
government representative attached to the
Eritrean Mission at the United Nations in New
York. The source flatly denied the rumor, and
expressed frustration that hoax had gained the
traction it had.
Eritrean expert Awet Weldemichael, an
Assistant Professor at Queen's University in
Canada, stated that he believed the reports
were fictitious and “started as a joke” online.
Mr. Weldemichael added that “I have not seen,
read, or heard anything credible which would
confirm the story.” “I think it [such a decree] is
in the realm of the improbable or impossible,”
Mr. Weldemichael said.
According to the false reports, the primary
justification for the mandatory marriage was
intended to fill the population gap in the
country following the Eritrean war for
independence in 1991 and the Eritrean-
Ethiopian war between 1998 and 2000.
Mr. Weldemichael, however, dismissed the
notion that the Eritrean government would solve
this supposed “population gap” with a decree
forcing all Eritreans to engage in polygamy. In
fact, the academic argued, the population of
Eritrea has actually increased substantially
since the war.
Mr. Weldemichael also stated “if you read [the
reports] closely they have no basis in Eritrean
tradition, which is almost half-Muslim and half-
Christian” and that Eritreans are cognizant of
the diverse “belief systems which do not always
allow multiple wives.”
The Eritrean government has not published an
official statement addressing these rumors at
the time of publication.