Niketche: A Story of Polygamy

A farce that celebrates the triumph of six women over one philandering man, this novel uses an age-old African story to address the subjection of women in modern Mozambique. After 20 years of marriage, Rami discovers that her husband, a senior police officer in Maputo, has a very big secret: he has been supporting four other households, complete with wives and children, for many years. Deciding not to give in to anger, Rami turns the tables and decides to make an honest polygamist out of Tony, insisting that he marry her love rivals according to customary law. She and the other women quickly join forces--they even recruit a sixth woman Tony has taken as a lover--to demand their rights, their voices, and support for their children.