I was talking to my boss yesterday evening. Somehow, the conversation ended up on the topic of older men harassing boys.
His take on it? "These older men are sex deprived. That's why Islam allows 4 wives because men's sexual desire lasts longer than women's. Men keep wanting sex till their 60s or 70s, while women usually fade out after 40 because of menopause."
Yep. That's a casual coffee conversation with my boss.
He wasn't explicitly saying polygamy stops harassment outright. His point was more that men's desire outlasts women's, so the four wives rule makes sense and explains why older men get frustrated.
Even if you entertain that, the logic falls apart instantly:
- Menopause doesn't mean your sex drive dies. It's a biological shift, not an off-switch.
- Men's libido declines with age too. Testosterone drops, ED is real. It's not like the flame roars forever.
- Even if men wanted it longer, why exactly 4 wives? Why not 2? Or 6? Or unlimited? Why not just remarry after a divorce?
- Linking harassment to "lack of wives" is insane. You don't fix abusers by handing them more partners. That's like trying to stop robberies by giving thieves a monthly stipend.
This is just classic ad hoc rationalization. You start with an ancient religious rule, and then you bolt on some pseudo-biology to make it sound like timeless, divine wisdom.
People do this all the time. They take an old rule and try to squeeze modern science into it until it looks smart. It's just mental gymnastics.
The takeaway here is that these beliefs are defended, not discovered. These explanations dont spring from evidence. They are manufactured to protect tradition. That's why you keep hearing the evergreen line "Hamari kitaab me toh yeh hazaron saal pehle likha tha."