Indonesia Now Has an App for Polygamy, And It’s Technically Legal

October 3, 2017

Married men in Indonesia who are looking to marry a second, third, fourth or fifth wife are now within reach thanks to a new mobile app called “AyoPoligami”, which is set for a re-release and suffice to say, it’s causing quite a stir.

The app was developed by Lindu Pranayama, an Indonesian-based developer. The idea to create “AyoPoligami” came to him while he was browsing through an online dating app and was disappointed by the lack of options for polyamorous relationships.

“A lot of men are looking to engage in polygamous marriages but when they go to regular dating sites or apps they don’t see options that cater for polygamy,” he said, according to South China Morning Post.

“AyoPoligami,” which is loosely translated to “Let’s do Polygamy,” was first released in the mobile app market in April, and around 10,000 people have already registered — with 60% of users being men.

However, after receiving the amount of registered users, the app developer stopped accepting new members into its database for fear of men using fake accounts or who are only there for the fun — without their first wives knowing about it.

“AyoPoligami” also has gender-specific chat rooms where members can go into and discuss their experiences with polygamy or even ask advice from fellow members.

Polygamy is considered legal in Indonesia, but the practice is not exactly accepted by many people in the country. More importantly, not everyone can just jump into a polyamorous relationship with ease.

Rachmat Dwi Putranto, a lawyer who specializes in marriage matters, said it takes a few steps before a man can engage in polygamous marriage. First, the man would require consent from his first wife. Secondly, an Indonesia court will only give the man authorization to do so only if the first wife is disabled, ill or couldn’t bear children, Independent reported.

Some activists still believe that the app could boost the normalization of polygamy in the country.

“The reality is women tend to be the victims of domestic violence in a polygamous marriage – polygamy is a form of violence against women,” Commissioner Indriyati Suparno, from the government-backed National Commission on Violence Against Women, explained.

It is still unclear, however, how many men and women are engaged in polyamorous relationships in Indonesia.

A new version of the “AyoPoligami” is scheduled to be released on October 5, and is currently available via the Google Play Store.

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