Azattyq Asia, a regional department of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) for Central Asia, reports that this summer, Kyrgyzstan was rocked by a heated debate over the potential legalization of polygamy. In June, lawmakers approved amendments to the Criminal Code that quietly removed criminal liability for men living with multiple wives. The move went largely unnoticed until two months later, when President Sadyr Japarov returned the bill to parliament, declaring that polygamy “demeans women, violates children’s rights, and leads to serious consequences, including financial hardship.”

The revelation sparked outrage across the country and reignited discussion about why the practice of “second wives” remains common in Central Asia despite formal bans.

The Kyrgyz debate

Under Kyrgyz law, Article 176 of the Criminal Code prohibits a man from cohabiting with two or more women “while running a shared household.” Violators face community service, correctional labor, or fines. But enforcement is rare.

High-profile figures have openly admitted to polygamous relationships. In 2017, former chief mufti Chubak Jalilov publicly acknowledged taking a second wife. Influential businessman Askar Salymbekov, owner of Bishkek’s Dordoi market, has also spoken about his “double marriage.” Even former ombudsman Tursunbai Bakir uulu defended the practice, calling it a reasonable solution if a wife is infertile or ill.

Former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev was officially married to Tatyana Bakiyeva during his rule, yet raised children with another partner, Nuzgul Tolomusheva, with whom he fled to Belarus after his ouster in 2010.

Despite the law, police and courts rarely pursue cases. Rights activists say first wives seldom report husbands who take additional spouses. “Dozens of women come to me privately,” says Mukhaio Abduraupova, a women’s rights advocate in Osh. “Men hide behind religion but in reality abandon both wives. Or they pamper the second wife and throw the first one out.”

Uzbekistan: polygamy in practice despite legal ban

Like Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan also criminalizes polygamy. Under national law, men who live with multiple wives while running a shared household face up to three years in prison. Yet in practice, the custom is widespread.

One example is Bakhodir Elibaev, a 43-year-old English teacher from Fergana region, who has lived with two women for 13 years. He legally married his first wife, Mavjuda, and held a nikah — an Islamic religious ceremony — with his second wife, Yulduz.

“I know it’s difficult for my wives. Few women would want to share a husband. But it’s not easy for me either. I have to treat them equally and provide for both families,” Elibaev told Azattyk Asia.

He has five children across both households. While his wives rarely meet, both say they accepted the arrangement in different ways. Mavjuda admits it was painful but chose to stay in the marriage: “I love my husband, and he created such an atmosphere at home that I don’t feel like he has another wife.”

Yulduz, meanwhile, says she is well cared for but wishes her marriage were legally recognized: “We live separately, so technically we are not violating the law. But I would like polygamy to be legalized so that second wives could register their marriages at the civil registry.”

Legal crackdowns vs. social norms

Uzbek authorities have repeatedly tried to curb polygamy. In 2017, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev threatened to fine imams for conducting nikah ceremonies without state marriage certificates, noting that cases were especially common in Tashkent. In 2023, he signed a law strengthening penalties for promoting polygamy and performing religious marriages without official registration.

Yet, according to local rights defenders, the practice is increasingly normalized. “Many women themselves agree to become second wives,” one Uzbek activist told Azattyk Asia, requesting anonymity. “They are motivated by financial security, but forget that children from unregistered marriages are left unprotected by law.”

Children born in such unions may be denied alimony or inheritance if the man abandons them, leaving mothers with no legal recourse.

Tajikistan: migration and legal vulnerabilities​​​​​​​

In Tajikistan, polygamy is explicitly outlawed. Article 170 of the Criminal Code defines it as cohabitation with two or more women, punishable by fines, correctional labor, or up to five years in prison.

In reality, however, hundreds — perhaps thousands — of women live in religious-only marriages without any legal protection. They cannot claim property, alimony, or state support.

One such case is Mehrangez, a 27-year-old woman from Dushanbe. After a painful divorce, she met a married man who persuaded her to undergo nikah and promised her security. She bore him a son, but over time, she says, he turned abusive:

“He tells me I’m a useless wife. If I don’t obey, he threatens to throw me out and take my son away.”

Tajikistan’s seventh periodic report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women noted that between 2019 and 2022, courts handled about 375 cases of polygamy, resulting in hundreds of convictions. Experts warn this is just the tip of the iceberg, as most cases remain hidden due to stigma and fear of legal consequences.

Migration fuels the practice

Labor migration exacerbates the problem.  Many Tajik men marry at home, father children, and later remarry abroad, abandoning their original families. “Often men in migration cut ties and stop providing support, leaving women and children alone,” says gender activist Nargis Saidova.

One high-profile case involved Parviz Davlatov.  His official wife killed his second “wife” during a violent confrontation. Both faced criminal charges, including Davlatov’s conviction for polygamy.

Sociologist Gulnora Beknazarova warns that rising patriarchal attitudes make women more dependent on marriage as a survival strategy, even in informal unions: “This transformation could have unpredictable consequences — from absent fathers to tragic cases where desperate mothers take their own lives and those of their children.”

Kazakhstan: a legal grey zone​​​​​​​

Kazakhstan decriminalized polygamy back in 1991, but civil registry offices still refuse to register a second marriage if one spouse is already married. Officially, the state declares monogamy, yet in practice it does not interfere with informal unions.

This creates what experts call a “grey zone”. “Formally it’s not banned, but women and children in such marriages receive no legal protection,” explains gender expert Aigerim Kusayynkyzy.

Stories like that of Aruzhan, a 30-year-old woman from Taraz, illustrate the impact. As a child, she discovered that her father maintained two families for more than a decade. While he provided for both households, the emotional toll was immense for her mother. “I remember how hard it was for her, but she stayed, perhaps out of love, perhaps for the children. I grew up against polygamy, but my brothers sometimes justify it, saying, ‘Our father did it, so it must be fine.’”

Experts call for reform

Across Central Asia, polygamy persists despite bans or ambiguous enforcement. Experts stress that simple prohibitions are ineffective. Instead, they call for systemic reforms to protect vulnerable women and children.

“This isn’t just about harsher punishment,” says Kusayynkyzy. “We need clear legal tools — easier procedures to establish paternity, criteria for recognizing de facto marriages based on children, property, and debts, and guaranteed support rights. Cases should be tracked systematically and linked to broader policies against gender-based violence.”

According to her, criminal prosecution should target real harm — coercion, deception, violence, and abandonment — while also offering women in unofficial unions a path to legal and social protection.

“Polygamy cannot be eradicated completely,” she concludes. “But its harms can be limited — with a system that protects the rights of all participants, especially the most vulnerable: women and children.”