A Tinder-like dating app in Indonesia that plans to bring together women and men attracted in polygamous marriages has stirred debate and controversy in the biggest Muslim-majority country of the world.
Polygamy is officially permitted in Indonesia, where a man is permitted to be married to at the max 4 women at a time, but the practice is opposed. The 35-year-old coder of the app named AyoPoligami, Lindu Pranayama, claimed that the thought came to him 1 Year back when he was looking through a dating application.
“A lot of men are seeking to participate in polygamous marriages but when they visit to normal dating apps or sites they do not see alternatives that provide for polygamy,” Pranayama claimed to the media in an interview. The app, which has enrolled 10,000 consumers since its roll out in April—almost 60% of whom are male—has gender-precise chat rooms for consumers to ask for advice or talk about their experiences in polygamy.
It permits consumers to swipe right or left on a profile of a person to indicate their willingness to meet them or not, much similar to Tinder, the popular mobile dating application. Below the Indonesian regulation, a man requires official consent from his 1st wife and endorsement by a religious court to make an entry into a polygamous marriage. Authorized experts claim that some males try to prevent the endorsement process.
Pranayama claimed that the security on the app was squeezed post fake accounts began to come into view. The app will recommence this week accepting new members, he claimed to the media. Zakia Tunisa, the women’s rights activist, claimed that the app was shocking and upsetting. “The app offers a spur for polygamy to be established in society and perhaps even convincing females to accept it,” claimed Tunisa to the media in an interview. Tunisa is an activist at Solidarity for Human Rights of Women.
Three women users who had a word with the media on the term of secrecy claimed that they were open to making an entry into polygamous marriages. One claimed that she was more flexible minded as compared to her parents who are against polygamous relationships.
