WOMEN UNDER POLYGAMY
The expense and the worry that the harem involves are also deterrents in Afghanistan as elsewhere under Islam.
Dr. Gray inquired of an Afghan gentleman: "Do you consider that a plurality of wives is to be desired?" "Among people of my race," he replied, "a plurality of wives is lawful; but that which is lawful is not always expedient." "In what way is it inexpedient?" I asked. "Firstly, there is the question of expense. Secondly, a plurality of wives is a source of constant annoyance and anxiety. One wife will live in peace with her husband; but with two or more there is no peace; for ever they are quarrelling."[1]
This philosophic rejoinder echoes, no doubt, the opinion of a very large number of men in the Eastern countries. From the time of Solomon, the harem and the concubinate have often proved hotbeds of jealousy, intrigue, strife, and tragedy, though this is not the invariable rule. Intrigues and domestic trouble are not uncommon in the Afghan harems. A shrewd and reflective man asks himself whether plural marriage is the happiest state, seeing that so many homes are scenes of discord.
Women in Afghanistan possess considerable influence in social matters, and even in politics. A clever, scheming woman succeeds as well here as in
- ↑ Op. cit.
242
