As many as 20,000 women are in polygamous marriages in the UK.

Nikah marriages are not recognised in British law. Any woman going through such a ceremony has none of the rights of a legal wife. 

To be legally married in Britain, a civil marriage ceremony must take place between two people who are not already legally married to someone else.

Women in polygamous relationships can suffer harmful consequences if the marriage breaks down or her 'husband' dies. They are left with no legal protection or rights.

Many women are unaware they are entering a polygamous marriage until it is too late. A lot of them are second or third wives who are also migrant women brought into the country with the promise of marriage.

But a Nikah ceremony does not give a woman the legal right to remain in the UK. And because she is afraid of being detained, deported, made destitute, homeless, and of losing her children, she is often unwilling to report being violently abused and/or sexually exploited to the police. 

Women who do know they are in a polygamous marriage often feel they had no choice in the matter if they are to marry the man they are promised to. While first wives feel pressured into accepting the situation rather than face the stigma of a divorce. Most are never told or consulted.

The vast majority of women in a polygamous relationship find it difficult and shameful to talk about. For them, polygamy is a taboo subject and not a choice they would have made willingly.