VietNamNet Bridge – LTD, a 50-year-old woman in Hong Dan district of the southern province of Bac Lieu, asked the local authorities’ permission to marry a wife for her husband.

The local government tried to explain to her but the woman insisted asking the government to allow her husband to marry another woman.

LTD and her husband have lived together for a dozen years and they have three children. They are not rich but not poor.

Suddenly, one day LTD sent a petition to the commune authorities, asking permission to marry the second wife for her husband, named P.

LTD explained that P loved a woman named X when he was a young man and until now he still loved that woman. She did not want to see her husband to be painful for losing his love, LTD agreed to let Ms. X to be the second wife of her husband.

In her petition, LTD wrote: “I’m ready to suffer the biggest pain in the world for women – sharing their man with another woman. But recently, Ms. X planed to get married with another man. Their wedding is about to be held soon.”

After that, she asked: “Please consider my petition. I only ask Ms. X to marry my husband and I wish they live happily together for the whole life. I accept their marriage… I want to help them live together…”

In fact, Mr. P and Ms. X loved each other when they were young, dozen years ago. After they broke up, Mr. P married Ms. LTD. Ms. X became a hamlet official and was still single.

In late 2011, Ms. X fell in love with Mr. H, who is 12 years old younger. They were about to get married when Mr. P suddenly visited Ms. X to blame her for ‘forgetting her old lover’ and asked her to not marry Mr. H.

Mr. P harassed Ms. X by phone calls and tried to prevent her marriage. Being angered, once Ms. X challenged Mr. P to divorce his wife to marry her.

Mr. P persuaded his wife, Ms. LTD to allow him to get married with Ms. X and the wife agreed. Ms. LTD sent the above petition to the commune authorities.

The local authorities determined that LTD’s request is contrary to the law and local officials tried to explain to her and her husband about the Law on Marriage and Family.

Ms. LTD insisted that it was not wrong when two people who loved each other could live together. Ms. X was wrong to get married another man and made her husband painful. Ms. X said she and Ms. P had no relations for a very long time and she could not get married to a married man. She was determined to marry Mr. H but she was hindered by Ms. LTD and Mr. P.

The local government both persuaded Ms. LTD and her husband and made a warning that if they insisted to prevent the wedding of Ms. X and Mr. H, they would be punished under the law.

Finally, Ms. LTD and her husband understood the issue while Ms. X already got married with Mr. H.

Anh Tuyet