DOCTOR Rohaya Mohamad chats happily about her plans for the evening, a romantic dinner for five with her husband – and his three other wives.

Mrs Rohaya and her family, which has produced 17 children aged between seven and 21, are among growing numbers of Malaysians entering into polygamous marriages.

Critics say that the practice, legal for Muslims who make up 60 per cent of the multi-ethnic population, is out of step with modern times and that it degrades the lives of women and children, reported AFP.

But 44-year-old Mrs Rohaya and her fellow wives say the arrangement works just fine for them, allowing them to easily juggle childcare, domestic duties and careers in their busy households.

The undisputed head of the family, 43-year-old husband Mohamad Ikram Ashaari, shuttles between the women’s separate homes, spending a night with each in rotation before they gather on the weekends for joint family time.

He took on a new wife every five years, starting with Mrs Juhaidah Yusof, a soft-spoken 41-year-old who takes care of all the youngsters, and concluding with pretty 30-year-old Rubaizah Rejab, an Arabic language teacher.

His second wife, divorce lawyer Kartini Maarof, introduced him to wife number three Mrs Rohaya – who had sought the lawyer’s services while divorcing her first husband, with whom she had seven children.

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This article was first published in The New Paper.