Breaking News English

Kenya's government has agreed on a new marriage law. Many female politicians are very angry. The Marriage Bill lets men have as many wives as they want. Men can soon marry other women without telling their wife. There was a big argument between male and female politicians. Many female lawmakers walked out of the debate. The law was going to make it illegal to have more than one wife, but lawmakers changed their mind. One male politician said the law was fair to women because divorced women now get 30 per cent of the family house and other things belonging to the couple.

One politician said the law keeps alive Kenya's traditions. He said: "When you marry an African woman, she must know the second one is on the way, and a third wife. This is Africa." A newspaper said this showed Kenya wasn't a modern country. It wrote: "This is a [backwards] move that is simply taking us back into the Dark Ages, at a time when we should be strengthening family values." A female politician said the law was unfair because the second wife would take all the money. She said: "We know that men are afraid of women's tongues more than anything else."