Crackdown on polygamy
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Authorities in Rakhine State's Maungdaw district have issued an order restricting polygamy and rising birth rates among the Rohingya people, an official from the district's Immigration and Manpower department said yesterday.
The population in the villages has been rising at an alarming rate with many households having up to 40 members, a district officer said.
“A regional order has been issued restricting a Bengali [Rohingya] man to have only one wife and two children. We’re also visiting homes unannounced to check if they are following the order. We’ll increase the visits during the rainy season,” the officer said.
He explained that the department will draw a map of the village that is being inspected and take photo records of how many people are living in each household after the rainy season ends.
“If we find that a man has a second wife when we return, we will legal action for illegal marriage. If there are additional children, they will be added to the blacklist,” he said.
Over 805,000 people live in the Maungdaw district and ethnic Rakhine people only make up 10 per cent of the population.
