Polygamy in Thailand

Polygamy in Thailand could be freely practiced before 1 October 1935. Polygamy was recognised under civil law.^[1][2] The old family law assigned wives to three categories in accordance with how they became wives:

• The first was called mia klang muang (เมียกลางเมือง), the 'official wife', whom the husband's parents had "acquired for him".
• The second was known as mia klang nok (เมียกลางนอก), the 'minor wife', whom the man asked after his first marriage.
• The third was mia klang thasi (เมียกลางทาสี), the title given to slave wives who were asked from the mother and father of their prior owners.^[2]

Children of these unions were recognised as legitimate.

While polygamy has since been abolished, it is still alive in Thailand and, according to some, widely accepted.^[3] The king of Thailand may, for example, still designate "consorts" other than the queen.^[4] Such unions are not recognised under Thai law, which states, "A man or a woman cannot marry each other while one of them has a spouse."^[5]

See also

• Thai marriage
• Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi