One wife is enough in Indonesia

86.5 percent of Indonesians between the ages of 15 and 25, and 72.7 percent of young Malaysians, disagree with the practice, according to a new survey. Of course, in and of itself that isn't earth-shattering news, but given that the countries are overwhelmingly Muslim and generally quite conservative, the number is interesting.

The same survey also found that 90.1 percent of young people in Indonesia wouldn't marry outside their religion (the survey only included young Muslims, a religion that makes up 88 percent of the population) and 98.2 percent said premarital sex was not okay.

So why the negative attitudes toward polygamy -- which is after all permitted under Islamic law?

It may be a generational shift based on years of vocal opposition from women's groups -- especially in Indonesia.

In both countries, polygamy is legal and has strong backers. Supporters have set up clubs that preach the virtues of polygamy and encourage women to be obedient to their husbands.

Only about 5 percent of recent marriages in Malaysia are estimated to be polygamous. In Indonesia, it's more widespread and often performed without official state recognition in mosques.

Among majority-Muslim countries, besides Indonesia and Malaysia, polygamy is recognized and practiced widely in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Sudan. Egypt and Jordan permit it but tightly regulate the practice which means written permission needs to be granted from the wife beforehand. Turkey, Tunisia, and Morocco ban the practice.