The great cultural collision of our age has brought many traditions into conflict, but few debates reveal as much about a society's values as the tension between monogamy and polygamy. While Western modernity often dismisses polygamy as a relic of "backward" cultures, a closer examination reveals an uncomfortable truth: the monogamous ideal, as practiced today, frequently fails in its central promise of fostering responsible, committed relationships. What emerges instead is a paradox—a system meant to channel desire into stable unions that often drives it underground into realms of secrecy and exploitation. The Western model of monogamy arrived in Africa and other colonized regions wrapped in the language of morality and progress, yet its track record tells a different story. Walk along the beaches of Mombasa or Dakar, and you will find European tourists—many wearing wedding rings—negotiating prices with local sex workers. These are not anomalies but symptoms of a syste...
“Onjalazbroz is the East African analytical voice on global affairs, public-health systems, and the post-colonial condition — written from Kisumu, read globally, and unafraid to name empire when it sees it."