PAKISTANIS continue to marry their first cousins while having complete disregard for medical and social complications that such marriages bring in their fold for the couples and their children.

The problem is even worse for women who sometimes have to marry their cousins who are less qualified than them. Having said that, men are equally vulnerable to the threats it poses and sometimes cave in to the pressure exerted on them by their families. A friend of mine, who belongs to a conservative family, is being married to his first cousin against his wish. His brother called him to inform that his parents had ‘fixed’ his marriage with his cousin in another city.

My friend, who is strictly against cousin marriages, cannot muster enough courage to say ‘no’ to his father who is very strict. He is finding it hard to deal with this conundrum and I am really worried for him.

It is time the parents stopped putting pressure on their children for marrying their cousins. There are many researches that suggest that cousin marriages play a huge role in why most of the children are born with abnormalities.

The government needs to run an awareness campaign in this regard. Such a practice should be discouraged.

Anonymous
Sargodha

Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2021