- Title: New matchmaking app targets Indonesia's polygamous community
- Date: 29th September 2017
- Summary: JAKARTA, INDONESIA (RECENT - SEPTEMBER 11, 2017) (REUTERS) SIGN READING (Bahasa Indonesia/English): "WOMEN'S SOLIDARITY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS" WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVIST ZAKIA TUNISA SITTING AT DESK (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Indonesia) WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVIST, ZAKIA TUNISA, SAYING: "It was upsetting and shocking when I first heard of this polygamy app, because even before the app, polyg
- Embargoed: 13th October 2017 12:13
- Keywords: mobile app Indonesia family Ayopoligami marriage internet dating Islam Muslims matchmaking app polygamy
- Location: BOGOR, WEST JAVA AND JAKARTA, INDONESIA
- City: BOGOR, WEST JAVA AND JAKARTA, INDONESIA
- Country: Indonesia
- Topics: Living / Lifestyle,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA00971CIQTH
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:For polygamy-seekers in Indonesia, any concerns they will not fit into the world of internet dating have been allayed thanks to a new Tinder-style app called AyoPoligami.
The app, which has stirred controversy in the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, allows men interested in polygamous marriages to seek out another wife as well as chat to other men with similar intentions.
Though widely frowned upon, Polygamy is legal in Indonesia, where a man is allowed to be married to up to four women at a time.
The app allows users, 60 percent of whom are men, to swipe left or right on a person's profile to signal their willingness - or not - to meet them, much like the popular mobile dating app Tinder. It also has gender-specific chatrooms for users to discuss their experiences in polygamy or ask for advice.
Iyus Yusuf Fasyiyah, 37, who alternates between his two wives and two homes every three days, is among 10,000 users who have registered on AyoPoligami since its launch in April. He said many of the people he encounters on the app are new to polygamy, and wanting to engage with it but don't know how. He did not say whether he is looking for a third wife on the app.
The app's developer Lindu Pranayama, 35, who met his first - and currently only - wife on the app, started his company in 2016 after realising regular dating sites weren't catering to married men looking for a second, third or fourth wife.
He recently had to stop accepting new members after scores of fake accounts appeared. After installing greater user security systems, he said, new users can join as of Thursday (October 5).
Women's rights activists have condemned Pranayama's endeavour, calling it "upsetting and shocking".
In order to enter a polygamous marriage, men in Indonesia are required to gain their first wife's consent and pass a religious court investigation, which will look to confirm that she is incapable of fulfilling her duties as a wife.
Legal experts say such regulations and the topic being taboo mean many people in the country marry without the necessary approvals.
"Cheating isn't even allowed, let alone polygamy, even if it's halal," said one Jakarta resident, Muhammad Rifki, when asked about his opinion on the app.
Reuters spoke to three female users of the app who said they were open to entering into polygamous marriages, but declined to be identified. Fasyiyah's wives declined to comment. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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