Examination of the Place of Sologamy in the Legal System of Ethiopia

Abstract

In 1993, an American Lady called Linda Baker married herself in front of several people consisting of family members and close friends. At the ceremony, she made a promise to be with herself in health and sickness and to love herself unconditionally. That event is widely regarded as the first publicized act of sologamy or self-marriage. Since then, sologamy has appeared in movies and writings; companies and websites have emerged to help sologamists arrange their marriages; and many individuals, mostly women, have practiced sologamy. Yet, the idea and practice of sologamy is not embraced by everyone. While some support and cherish sologamy, others regard it as a manifestation of narcissism. On top of that, sologamy raises many legal issues. So, with a succinct introduction to the idea and practice of sologamy, this article has tried to explore the legal status of sologamy with special emphasis on Ethiopian laws. As this is a relatively new concept, the practice of sologamy by any Ethiopian living in Ethiopia is hitherto unheard of although this is not a guarantee that sologamy will not happen in Ethiopia. As a result, the objective of this article is to examine the place that sologamy has under the laws of Ethiopia. To this end, a doctrinal approach has been adopted and investigations have been conducted by consulting available literature and relevant legal instruments. The experiences of some randomly selected countries were also consulted. At the end, the article has concluded that sologamy is neither expressly permitted nor expressly prohibited under the laws of Ethiopia.