In Secret, Polygamy Follows Africans to N.Y.

It has taken me some time to comment on the article- In Secret, Polygamy Follows Africans to N.Y.- by the New York Times' Nina Bernstein because I could not find a simple way to share my views on this piece. The piece ruffled a bunch of nerves in me for many reasons, two of which I will mention here. First, the timing was insensitive.

Secondly some things were overgeneralized. The timing was just not right. While I do not have a problem with the Times highlighting the issue of polygamy to their readers, putting the article before the tears dried off the eyes of the family and friends of Moussa Magassa, the Mali-born American citizen whose family perished in a fatal fire in the Bronx on March 7- as if to say if he had not been a polygamist the house would not have burned down- seemed inappropriate. The idea that the "fatal fire in the Bronx on March 7 revealed" the presence of polygamy here, comes off as a celebration of this journalistic treasure of material brought by the fire without regard to the basic fact that this was a tragedy.

Now here is what really grinds my gears: the simplicity with which the writer deals with the diverse peoples and cultures of the motherland is just saddening.
When did Ghana, Guinea and Mali become the epitome of African Culture? To add insult to injury the article insinuates that poligamy is only an African thing when in fact it is not. If Islam sanctions it, should not the article have interviewed some Moslems from the Middle East to get a balanced view? Is it accurate that this is a predominantly African thing?

Overall, I agree that the issue of polygamy is a problem, in many cases for practical reasons like the risk of sexually transmitted infections like HIV/AIDS. My problem with the article lies in that it skims the surface of an issue that needs more discussion, not just in the context of law, but in the context of larger cultural discussions. It is not just about women rights, but the overall culture in which poligamy persists.