Pac: Re: Polygamy,
In muslim countries there is a direct correlation between the prevelance of polygamy and repudaition (single women marrying men who where previosuyly married) and the age gap at first marriage.
In other words, societies where larger age gaps at marriage are prevelant, the women having little choice end up either with men who are already married (polygamy) or men who had previouly been married (repudiation).
(this was documented in a atlas published a few years back. If necessary i could probably dig up chapter and verse)
That being, said the bitul cherem drabeinu gershom suggetion is any simply silly to discuss becasue we all know it isn’t going to happen anytime soon.
if we want to help the situation we need to focus our energies on what we can accomplish as opposed to what isn’t going to happen.
If we follow that model we have 3 choices,
1) close the age gap,
2) Encourage repudiation and in fact there are many girls who go that route once they hit the high 20’s/30’s (not that this really help anything, because the women of those first marriages, divorces or widows end up even more stuck since the men who have previously been married have the opportunity to look for women who have never been married instead of women who have been married)
3) polygamy which isn’t happeneing anytime soon