Dating websites and apps are supposed to help single people find love, or at least a bit of romance. However, when you are scrolling through dating websites or apps, there is constant fear of being cheated on or with by people already married or in a relationship.
In fact, according to a study by GlobalWebIndex in 2015, more than four in 10 people who use dating apps are already married or in a relationship. Now, to apparently solve the problem, there is a dating app available in Indonesia specifically for married men so they can find another wife.
The dating app is known as AyoPoligami — which loosely translates to "Let's do polygamy." It has stirred controversy in the world's largest Muslim-majority nation.
Though there is a debate about the app that encourages polygamy, the practice is legal in Indonesia. A man is allowed to marry up to four women at a time in the country, but needs formal consent from his first wife for it, and it has to be approved by a religious court before the second or subsequent marriages. However, legal experts claim that some men try to avoid the approval process.
Much like Tinder, the app allows users to swipe left or right on a person's profile to show their willingness — or not — to meet them. For users, there are also gender-specific chatrooms to discuss their experiences in polygamy or even ask for advice.
The 35-year-old developer of the app, Lindu Pranayama, said the idea came to him a year ago when he was scrolling through a dating app. He told Reuters: "A lot of men are looking to engage in polygamous marriages but when they go to regular dating sites or apps they don't see options that cater for polygamy."
Setelah ayopoligami terbitlah nikahsiri... nafsu lebih dikedepankan daripada logika
— Am Bintang (@ambintangpras) September 22, 2017
Twitter user Am Bintang (@ambintangpras) wrote: "After AyoPoligami came out, lust is more advanced than logic. [sic]"
Since its launch in April, the app has been downloaded over 10,000 times before it stopped registering new members due to the concerns over fake accounts where men were using the site without the knowledge of their first wives.
So, a new version is all set to be launched on Thursday and will reportedly impose strict rules on users. They will have to provide their identity, marital status and also proffer a letter of permission from their first wife to access the app.
Women's rights activists have condemned the endeavour and called it "upsetting and shocking."
Indriyati Suparno, a commissioner from the government-backed National Commission on Violence Against Women, told Reuters the app is trying to "normalise polygamy."
She said: "The reality is women tend to be the victims of domestic violence in a polygamous marriage — polygamy is a form of violence against women."
Let's us know what you think about the new dating app in the comments section below.
