Consanguineous Marriages in Pakistan

Abstract

In societies where marriage is nearly universal, and the fertility process is almost entirely through marital union, the factors associated with the occurrence of marriage, and through it the reproduction and rearing of children, need to be continuously assessed. Except for prohibited relationships, marriages between close and distant relations, as well as between those not related have been practiced among the muslims. The high incidence of close kin marriages (consanguineous marriages),t including those with first cousins, is a well-known feature of a muslim society. Marriages between close relatives are not only practiced by muslims but also by the people of many other religious. affiliations. Within the South Asian subcontinent, besides muslims, christians and other communities, consanguineous marriages have also been practiced by hindus, especially in the south Indian states, and in the central state of Maharashtra. In the northern states of India the prohibition on such marriages is more strictly enforced.2 In the south Indian state of Andhra a high proportion of maternal uncle-niece in addition to cross-cousin marriages (especially among maternal cross-cousins) have been in a high propor..........

Population-Genetic Influences on Genomic Estimates of the Inbreeding Coefficient: A Global Perspective

“…These results are compatible with the higher rates of consanguinity reported among Pakistani populations than among Indian populations [43,44], and with documented preferences of the Makrani [61] and Balochi [62,63] populations for consanguineous marriage. Interestingly, whereas high levels of consanguinity have been reported among the Hazara in Afghanistan [64,65], F hbd values in the Pakistani Hazara population in our data set are among the lowest observed in Central/South Asians.…”

Decrease in consanguinity among parents of children born in Norway to women of Pakistani origin: A registry-based study

“…In Pakistan, higher frequencies of consanguinity have been associated with living in rural areas, lower education, and younger age at marriage [4,6]. Thus, it was expected that the UK-born Pakistanis who have lived primarily in urban areas and generally have higher education than their parents would change their marriage pattern [7].…”

Drivers of Cousin Marriage among British Pakistanis

“…A large household and obstetric inpatient survey of seven cities in the Punjab province found that 46.8% of marriages were consanguineous, to relatives such as second cousins or closer [12]. Higher frequencies of consanguineous marriage are associated with rural areas, lower levels of education and younger age at marriage, and lower frequencies are associated with urban areas and education, indicating a class dimension to the practice [11, 13]. …”