Sweden Moves To Ban Cousin Marriages
9th October 2024
An investigation commissioned by the Swedish government recommends banning cousin marriages and also proposes making marriages between close relatives—such as an uncle and his brother’s child, or half-siblings—illegal.
The investigation points out that cousin marriages are linked to honor-based norms, and that there is a specific risk of girls and women facing ‘honor-related oppression’ in these marriages. It also highlights that cousin marriages today happen to a considerable extent in Sweden.
The proposed ban would apply to marriages in Sweden but also mean the country would not recognize such marriages conducted in other countries.
Pakistan is notorious for its forced first-cousin and uncle-niece marriages, with the consequent deleterious genetic results.
Although not explicitly cited as the reason for Sweden’s proposed ban on cousin marriages, the risk of congenital disabilities is twice as high in children whose parents are closely related, studies show.
In 2005, British MP Ann Cryer sparked controversy by raising the issue of genetic risks associated with first-cousin marriages within the Pakistani community, framing it as a public health concern, but stopping short of calling for a ban. At the time, the Birmingham Primary Care Trust estimated that one in ten children born to first-cousin parents in the city’s Pakistani community either died in infancy or suffered genetic disorders.
I have about a dozen female first cousins, not one of which I could stand to live in the same zip code with, much less marry.