Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) has come under scrutiny for seemingly defending cousin marriage, as debate swirls on the practice and its prevalence in certain minority communities.
Despite scientific findings linking cousin marriage to a range of genetic birth defects, negative effects on I.Q. and increased risk of Alzheimer’s, mood disorders, and schizophrenia, NHS England’s Genomics Education Programme published guidance last week downplaying its dangers while touting alleged societal benefits.
The guidance admitted the genetic risks, yet noted that other factors can cause defects in children, such as alcohol consumption and the age of parents, “none of which are banned in the UK.” Meanwhile, the article claimed that cousin marriage is tied to “stronger extended family support systems and economic advantages”.
“Genetic counselling, awareness-raising initiatives and public health campaigns are all important tools to help families make informed decisions without stigmatising certain communities and cultural traditions,” the guidance continued.
Contrary to the claims of supposed familial benefits of cousin marriage made by the NHS, critics have warned that such practices are likely to be used as control mechanisms for women.
Aneeta Prem MBE, founder of the Freedom Charity, told the Mail on Sunday: “First cousin marriage is not just a cultural tradition – it is a safeguarding risk. At Freedom Charity, we have seen how it is tied to dishonour abuse, where young people are pressured from childhood and given little or no real choice.”
Cousin marriage, which is currently legal in the United Kingdom given until recently it had not been common in the country, has become a hot-button political issue in relation to the British Pakistani community. Estimates have found that upwards of one in two British Pakistanis is married to a first cousin.
Unsurprisingly given the research on consanguinity, British Pakistanis also account for a disproportionate number of genetic birth defects, with some estimates claiming that one-third of cases involve British Pakistanis.
Anti-cousin marriage campaigner Aisha Ali-Khan blames the untimely deaths of her two brothers — both of whom died before the age of 18 — on the first cousin marriage between her two British Pakistani parents.
She told the Mail: “I’ve been campaigning to highlight the risks of first cousin marriage for years, and we’ve finally started to see younger members of the community start to reject the practice.
“So for the NHS to say that cousin marriage is something which has been going on for centuries just undermines what those of us with lived experience have been saying.”
Conservative MP Richard Holden, who has called for cousin marriage to be made illegal, added: “Our NHS should stop taking the knee to damaging and oppressive cultural practices.
“Sir Keir Starmer should stop running scared of the misogynistic community controllers and their quislings who appear in the form of cultural relativist-obsessed sociology professors, and ban a practice the overwhelming majority, from every community in Britain, want to see ended for good.”
The NHS said in a statement that the guidance was merely a “summary of existing scientific research and the public policy debate” and was “not expressing an NHS view.”
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