The Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar Gadaffi, has ordered an inquiry into an amendment of the law on polygamy.

The country's original law allowed a husband to take a second wife only if the first wife agreed, but the amendment, passed by parliament last year, removed the obligation to get the first wife's permission.

In an address to a group of women, shown on Libyan television, Colonel Gadaffi said the Supreme Court must open an inquiry as the amendment was a serious social matter.

He criticised both the parliament and those women who had accepted the change, and tore up a copy of the bill before walking out.