Ganging up

Living in a multi-cultural society like Malaysia, we all know that Muslims are permitted under the Syari'ah law to marry up to four wives at the same time.

The secret, if I remember it correctly from a colleague in my previous employment, is to treat all the wives equally. Woe betide the Muslim man who favours one wife over another either materially, emotionally or sexually.

This former colleague of mine was simply amazing. He worked as a bank messenger at one of the branches but he had the ability to support his four wives. How he did this was a mystery not only to me but to others who knew about this. Unfortunately, I'd lost touch with him a long time ago so there is no updated news from him.

Anyway, I saw on the Internet today a story about a Saudi man losing a bit of his nose when he was assaulted jointly by his two enraged wives after he jokingly threatened to marry a third woman.

This man, Judaie Ibn Salem, had thought that the threat of bringing a third woman into his household would help resolve an argument over dividing up his house. Silly bugger. Serves him right.

“I swore that I would do it because they were impolite (to me). I never thought they would get so worked up," he said, adding "and that’s when I came under an even bigger attack.”

His reward was seven stitches on his nose at the local hospital. But has it really changed his mind about marrying a third time? No. The unrepentant man insists that the only way he could restore his dignity now is really to carry out his threat.

But he is well aware of the repercussions. “I don’t know what I’m going to lose next if I do that," he acknowledged. Silly guy. Go ahead. You'll find out soon enough.