Page 4 | Prime Minister refused to ban 1st cousin marriage

happydappy2 · 2025-10-04T09:10:09+00:00

Even though there is clear evidence of serious birth defects to babies born from 1st cousin marriages. It is deeply worrying that the bride and groom will have the same Grand Parents.....this is unsafe for women in a patriarchal family system. Who takes on the bulk of the work caring for the disabled child-the woman... Why is the British gov't promoting incest? [[https://x.com/Basil_TGMD/status/1974371215629578344 https://x.com/Basil_TGMD/status/1974371215629578344]] I hope this is not true...but does anyone know any more about it?

WearyAuldWumman · 04/10/2025 15:12

Missey85 · 04/10/2025 14:33

You can marry your cousin over there? I didn't know that it's always been illegal in Australia you have to get a blood test before you get married

I have one acquaintance (in the UK) who - it turns out - was married to his first cousin. It was a second marriage for both of them and there were no children, though they both had family from their first marriages to non-relatives.

My grandfather in Eastern Europe found his bride in an even more remote village over the mountains. It's only recently that I found out that the Orthodox church bans cousin marriage up to the 4th degree, so that would explain why Grandad left his village. My generation all met their spouses at university.

justasking111 · 04/10/2025 15:15

In Wales and Ireland there were issues once. Small gene pool, inbreeding. My GP is Irish. He said even now genetics raised their head now and again.

HPFA · 04/10/2025 15:22

Sausagenbacon · 04/10/2025 12:08

As we see by the reaction of many, first cousin marriage is socially unacceptable. This is clearly an area where practises of Islam are incompatible with British values.

Again - 1st cousin marriage is, and has been, accepted in the UK.

Posters do themselves no favours, when trying to speak about what is a serious problem, by muddying the waters this way.

You see on this thread how any attempt to discuss this issue seriously descends into crude Muslim bashing from some posters.

Newsenmum · 04/10/2025 15:30

Imnobody4 · 04/10/2025 12:07

It would be illegal. Sharia does not trump British law.

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Yes but a lot of ‘marriages’ are sharia and not legal marriages. So that could easily continue with cousins.

If Im correct I believe that first cousins marrying isnt a great issue in itself but it’s more that if you keep doing it in the same family than you get more and more related.

MainframeMalfunction · 04/10/2025 15:36

BundleBoogie · 04/10/2025 14:50

That was auto correct - it was meant to be ‘serious’.

I read the study and it came across as being very defensive. Almost as if it had some preconceived agenda…

I presume this is the section you are referring to. I couldn’t see any citations for the comparison in turn but the thing that jumped out at me was that while they admitted that risk doubled after cousin marriage, they then didn’t give a baseline or any contextual info about the claim that the risks for white British women were also ‘double’. Double what? They are talking about 2 entirely different cohorts. Their figures also contradict other studies that found 12% infant mortality in repeated cousin marriages through the generations.

The figure that I found was that the additional risk to white women over 35 was 0.89 so it appears that the baseline risk factor is 0.445. It’s comparing completely different things and utterly dishonest.

They also claim that white women having babies over 35 is a ‘cultural practice’. No it isn’t. The demands of careers and government may be pushing women to have children later but it is not a ‘cultural practice’. In any case, if it had an equal risk to cousin marriage I’m sure words would be had and older mothers would be shamed for putting their kids health at risk.

You point out that cousin marriage in Bradford is declining - why? If it’s so risk free and desirable, why is it happening less? It would be even lower if we made it illegal. Then it would be classed as incest.

I am very worried that medical care and society are moving backwards. We seem to be encouraging people to continue with a practice that we KNOW creates health issues. These people might get screening but that doesn’t necessarily pick up all possibilities so then what? Are we deliberately creating a situation where there will be more abortion required ?

In each pregnancy there will be a 25% chance that this mutation is co-inherited by their offspring, resulting in the expression of the disorder. There also is a wider risk of an adverse impact on biological fitness through generational effects (so-called inbreeding depression).
Born in Bradford provides the most definitive UK evidence of risk of congenital anomalies.
After allowing for risk factors such as age, obesity and smoking, the risk of congenital anomalies was doubled (3% to 6%) in first cousin marriages and explained 30% of genetic disorders.
However the risk to the child they give birth to also doubled in White British women over the age of 34 years.
At this point, it is important to mention that just like a cousin marriage is a cultural practice in Asian/British Pakistanis heritage, resulting in increasing risk factors for congenital anomalies, so too is choosing to give birth at or after the age 34 in White British women/couples.

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Thank you for actually looking into the scientific data and misinformation being propagated, which is extremely disturbing.

Our politicians are failing children by refusing to ban this, it is disgraceful to inflict such high risks on babies when legislation can reduce the risk. They fail children by refusing to ban social media for minors despite all scientific evidence as well. They fail them by underfunding schools, and care homes because there are no votes in that. Children are the most vulnerable members of our society and have no voice or vote and politicians should be utterly ashamed of themselves for allowing these things to continue.

Dooaleapa · 04/10/2025 15:38

Also worth noting that this is also fairly common in the British aristocracy

MainframeMalfunction · 04/10/2025 15:42

Newsenmum · 04/10/2025 15:30

Yes but a lot of ‘marriages’ are sharia and not legal marriages. So that could easily continue with cousins.

If Im correct I believe that first cousins marrying isnt a great issue in itself but it’s more that if you keep doing it in the same family than you get more and more related.

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The fact people may engage is pseudo legal processes and sham marriages is not a reason not to set appropriate laws based on data and evidence. The correct response is to set the evidence-based laws and then enforce them, and crack down on disbanding any attempts to set up a parallel pseudo-legal process with harsh penalties for what is clearly abusive behaviour to women and incompatible with the laws of our country even as they stand.

If people want to live here then they need to abide by UK law and accept that religion has no place in politics or public discourse (we need to disestablish the protestant church for the same reason). This is the 21st century and public policy should be led by science and evidence not personal beliefs in sky fairies.

MainframeMalfunction · 04/10/2025 15:42

Dooaleapa · 04/10/2025 15:38

Also worth noting that this is also fairly common in the British aristocracy

Edited

Hardly a selling point!

Livpool · 04/10/2025 15:43

Missey85 · 04/10/2025 14:33

You can marry your cousin over there? I didn't know that it's always been illegal in Australia you have to get a blood test before you get married

It should be illegal everywhere- it’s fucking grim and causes genetic issues

EasternStandard · 04/10/2025 15:44

Dooaleapa · 04/10/2025 15:38

Also worth noting that this is also fairly common in the British aristocracy

Edited

Not a reason to keep it

MainframeMalfunction · 04/10/2025 15:45

Imnobody4 · 04/10/2025 15:07

You're misunderstanding Sharia. It requires proper ceremonies etc and as such is limited by the law of the land. ie it's not just a bit of cos play.

Imam appears in court charged with allowing illegal marriage of 16-year-olds at Northampton mosque | ITV News Anglia https://share.google/2mNvvvGccUBeVXyGX
Ashraf Osmani, 52, of Abington Avenue, Northampton, spoke only to confirm his name, address and date of birth when he appeared at Northampton Magistrates' Court on Thursday.He was charged under forced marriage legislation, according to Northamptonshire Police.It is alleged that Osmani conducted a Nikah marriage ceremony in November 2023, involving two 16-year-old children at the Northampton Central Mosque, where he is the serving imam, the mosque’s most senior Muslim cleric.

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Great. So we make cousins marrying each other illegal and then prosecute any imams who are breaking the law and attempting to validate illegal marriages. Publish some sentencing guidelines to apply a mandatory prison sentence for doing so as well as making it illegal for someone convicted of this to hold a further role as a religious leader in the UK once released. Stamp it out.

TwoUnderTwitTwoo · 04/10/2025 15:49

Approximately 20-40% of child deaths may be due to genetic disorders associated with consanguinity (cousin marriage) in areas including Birmingham, Bradford and Redbridge. This is from the Born in Bradford study of approximately 13,500 families. This is not at all comparable to the risk of being an older parent or whatever inaccurate comparisons are being made above.

The risks of consanguinity and the severity of genetic disorders is dealt with in the Born in Bradford study (and other more recent follow-ups) but doesn’t touch on the relational harm to women that these practises arise from.

NutButterOnToast · 04/10/2025 15:50

Cousin marriage is declining in the UK.

It's a sledgehammer to crack a nut, even the people in charge of the Born in Bradford study realise the issue is more to do with a small gene pool which is what you get in diaspora communities and banning cousin marriage won't necessarily help that.

Lots of people now recognise the value of genetic counselling and that has really helped people avoid some terrible genetic diseases in their children.

Parents want the best for their children, end of.

TwoUnderTwitTwoo · 04/10/2025 15:52

Dooaleapa · 04/10/2025 15:38

Also worth noting that this is also fairly common in the British aristocracy

Edited

Yes and it is widely accepted that this inbreeding is what led to the genetic mutations which caused the ruin of the royal families across Europe. What a bizarre point to make.

PreciousTatas · 04/10/2025 15:54

I come from a culture where cousin marriage is a common practice.

The evidence is there. I'm not sure why some people can easily accept that inbreeding animals causes various health, behaviour and IQ problems, but will not accept it does exactly the same in humans.

Children are suffering and having awful lives, and it is entirely preventable.

It needs to be banned.

Original poster

happydappy2 · 04/10/2025 15:54

Our politicians are failing children by refusing to ban this, it is disgraceful to inflict such high risks on babies when legislation can reduce the risk. They fail children by refusing to ban social media for minors despite all scientific evidence as well. They fail them by underfunding schools, and care homes because there are no votes in that. Children are the most vulnerable members of our society and have no voice or vote and politicians should be utterly ashamed of themselves for allowing these things to continue.

This x 1000-well said Mainframe

OP posts:

Thedevilhasfinallycaughtupwithhim · 04/10/2025 15:55

Dooaleapa · 04/10/2025 15:38

Also worth noting that this is also fairly common in the British aristocracy

Edited

I don’t care.

It should still be banned.

tiredangry · 04/10/2025 15:56

Shellyash · 04/10/2025 11:29

I think it comes from not so developed countries with high mortality rates, doesn't belong in developed western countries. It's clearly unkind to bring babies into the world with a very high risk of having defects due to something avoidable.

It's not unkind, it's straight up wicked.

Dancingdance · 04/10/2025 15:57

TheCountessofLocksley · 04/10/2025 10:55

Are you referring to the Private Members Bill which is awaiting its second reading? Private Members Bills rarely make it into law as the HIV have more pressing priorities, but they give non Ministerial MPs from all parties a chance to raise issues they are championing,

https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3907

You are being deliberately inflammatory in your use of wording; whether you agree with it or not, currently, first cousin marriage is legal in the UK, and not incestuous.

looking at those MPs that support the Bill it’s easy to see that this is deeper than concerns for the health of children born to first cousin marriages. The Born in Bradford study has some interesting data based on real life cases.

It’s legal at the moment, but it is incest. I think it’s disgusting that it’s still legal.

Newsenmum · 04/10/2025 15:57

PreciousTatas · 04/10/2025 15:54

I come from a culture where cousin marriage is a common practice.

The evidence is there. I'm not sure why some people can easily accept that inbreeding animals causes various health, behaviour and IQ problems, but will not accept it does exactly the same in humans.

Children are suffering and having awful lives, and it is entirely preventable.

It needs to be banned.

do you think a ban would help?

CinnamonCinnabar · 04/10/2025 16:00

Sausagescanfly · 04/10/2025 11:17

There are alternatives to banning first cousin marriages, around things like education and genetic testing.

Banning them may well lead to religious marriage ceremonies without parallel civil ceremonies. This would be detrimental to women who then found that they didn't have the legal protections of marriage.

This is a reasonable, short article on the issue.

The genetic testing idea is total nonsense - the genetic conditions that occur are very rare autosomal recessive conditions- that
means that if you have 1 mutation you have no symptoms, but if you inherit 2 copies you have the disease. As the Born in Bradford study and the Progressive Intellectual & Neurological Deterioration in childhood (PIND) scheme show, the conditions are very variable and all very rare - so knowing what to test for beforehand is impossible. It's not like screening for common conditions like Down's. There are a very large number of rare mutations plus ones that may be family specific so unknown till an affected child is born.

Plus when is this genetic testing happening? Before marriage? If you're in a traditional community where 1st cousin marriage is normal I can't see genetic screening being acceptable. Ditto screening after marriage- what are you going to do if it's positive- divorce? Embryo selective IVF? In all seriousness claiming that genetic testing is of any use in this scenario shows no understanding of the underlying conditions or willfull misdirection - I think the Born in Bradford study is guilty of the latter.

Imnobody4 · 04/10/2025 16:00

Newsenmum · 04/10/2025 15:30

Yes but a lot of ‘marriages’ are sharia and not legal marriages. So that could easily continue with cousins.

If Im correct I believe that first cousins marrying isnt a great issue in itself but it’s more that if you keep doing it in the same family than you get more and more related.

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'The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 . This Act applies to marriages performed under any circumstances, including religious ceremonies like nikah, making it a criminal offence to arrange such a marriage for a minor. The Act came into force on February 27, 2023, and those found guilty of arranging a child marriage face up to seven years in prison.'

I fail to see why a new law on cousin marriages wouldn't follow this pattern.

ladybirdsanchez · 04/10/2025 16:02

KitWyn · 04/10/2025 15:01

But it is not common any more in virtually all communities in the UK, for very good reasons!

And the only effective way of addressing it is to ban it in all circumstances. And requiring all religious marriages within mainstream religions, including Islam and Orthodox Judaism, must be accompanied with a civil service shortly after.

One of the most upsetting programmes I have ever watched was 'When Cousins Marry' from Channel 4 Dispatches (2010).

It has been removed from the Channel 4 app, but is still on YouTube. It is truly heartbreaking.

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Wow - the intro sequence of that documentary states that MORE THAN HALF OF BRITISH PAKISTANIS MARRY THEIR FIRST COUSINS 😱

I had no idea the practice was so widespread. I knew it wasn't unusual, but more than half???? Bloody hell!!

Edited to say that it's clear why wet lettuce Starmer won't ban this. There are apparently 1.6 million British Pakistanis, which equates to 2.5% of the population. That's a lot of voters to potentially alienate ... not that I'm cynical. Oh no!

PreciousTatas · 04/10/2025 16:06

ladybirdsanchez · 04/10/2025 16:02

Wow - the intro sequence of that documentary states that MORE THAN HALF OF BRITISH PAKISTANIS MARRY THEIR FIRST COUSINS 😱

I had no idea the practice was so widespread. I knew it wasn't unusual, but more than half???? Bloody hell!!

Edited to say that it's clear why wet lettuce Starmer won't ban this. There are apparently 1.6 million British Pakistanis, which equates to 2.5% of the population. That's a lot of voters to potentially alienate ... not that I'm cynical. Oh no!

Edited

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Around 55% if I'm remembering rightly.

Inbreeding is also associated with a higher propensity to being radicalised and sudden rage syndrome.

Prime Minister refused to ban 1st cousin marriage

TwoUnderTwitTwoo · 04/10/2025 16:12

PreciousTatas · 04/10/2025 16:06

Around 55% if I'm remembering rightly.

Inbreeding is also associated with a higher propensity to being radicalised and sudden rage syndrome.

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60% of couples of Pakistani heritage in Britain
are related by blood. https://borninbradford.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/HG2954-BIHR-BiB-Evidence-Briefing-Genes-and-Health-4.pdf