Analyzing the Effects of Polygyny on First-Wives among Pashtun Community in Quetta, Pakistan

Abstract

The current study examines the concept of polygyny, which refers to the practice of having two or more spouses simultaneously. Despite, of its exixtence in Pashtun population, there was still a lack of scholarly research on the subject. This study aimed to investigate the effects of polygyny on first-wives in terms of their emotional relationships, family dynamics, and financial well-being.Consequently, the researcher opted qualitative technique to examine the experiences of first wives.The researcher has selected population from Quetta using snowball sampling. A total of twenty interviews were done by in-depth interviews, adhering to the principles of data saturation.Thematic analysis was utilized to examine the data. The findings highlighted that polygyny resulted in distant, nervous, and broken relationships with first wives. This study uncovered an adverse environment characterized by a lack of emotional and financial support for first wives, leading to maladjustment. The present study only determined the effects of polygyny on first-wives.Moreover, the future researchers must investigate the different age’s people in this area such as children, adolescents.