Why Are Consanguineous Marriages Still A Thing?

Swati was a Keralite being born and brought up in Uttar Pradesh. In school and college, she would be mesmerized by the bonding her friends had with their cousins, both male and female. She was the only child so yearned for a brother. Uttar Pradesh has this culture of not only seeing cousins as their siblings but even distant acquaintances or even rakhi brothers were like their own. Swati loved this culture as she was an affectionate and loving soul.

“Tringggggg”…Her phone was ringing. It was her maternal uncle’s son on the other end.

“Hey, Unni!” She was chirpy.

Swati never liked his bossy behaviour. Who had given him the authority to question her decisions in her life?

“Amma!! Why is Unni Chetan so bothered about me?”

“Oh, dear!! You are his future bride…. his “mora ponnu” was her mom’s reply which she had been hearing since childhood, much to her chagrin!

Annoyed, she said in a firm voice, “Who decided this? Don’t you want to know whom I want to marry? Don’t I have my likes and dislikes? And…AM I AN OBJECT THAT HE HAS OWNERSHIP OF??

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Consanguineous Marriages

The above is just one simple example of a norm in the South. A cousin with whom you should be growing, fighting loving and living as a sibling is your future spouse and this wrong feeling is engrained into you the day you are born. If there is more than one cousin, then there is an ugly fight for “their girl”. Not only cousins but there are also parts of Tamil Nadu where a girl could marry her mama! Ridiculous!!

Science has proven that consanguineous marriages i.e., marriages between the same family members could lead to severe congenital anomalies in the forthcoming child born to them. Also, children need to grow in an atmosphere of innocent, pure love amongst themselves rather than being exposed to a “love” which is inappropriate at this age.

Healthy relationships need to sprout between children in their formative years and for this, parents need to step in and encourage a sibling bond between cousins. Such practices are condemnable and unhealthy and should be done away with.

Image Credits: Baljith Johal on Pexels

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