It’s been taboo to talk about it but first cousin marriage is common in the United Arab Emirates. Only a few scientific studies have documented it but there is a direct impact of consanguineous marriages and the health of one’s children. One study found that up to one-third of all marriages in the UAE are to first cousins, with about half of all marriages are between people considered interrelated.
Thalassemia, a blood disease found commonly between the children of people who marry is a major health concern in the United Arab Emirates yet previous studies have focused on genetics while neglecting culture and society, write authors in an International Health study. The authors of the 2023 study indicate that tradition and religion in the UAE –– consanguinity, illegality of abortion and in vitro fertilisation, plus adoption restrictions –– affect the prevention and management of this disastrous blood disorder.
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They propose changing attitudes towards traditional marriage practices, education and awareness campaigns targeting families and young people, and earlier genetic testing, which are all culturally acceptable solutions to curbing the high incidence of thalassemia in the UAE.
The treatment of thalassemia mostly depends on life-long blood transfusions and removal of excessive iron from the blood stream.
Saudi Arabia has one of the highest prevalences of thalassemia in the world, ranging from 0.4% in the Northern region to 5.9% in the Eastern region.
Thalassemia is a blood disorder passed down through families (inherited) in which the body makes an abnormal form or inadequate amount of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. The disorder results in large numbers of red blood cells being destroyed, which leads to anemia.
Complications from this disorder may include delayed growth, bone problems causing facial changes, liver and gall bladder problems, enlarged spleen, enlarged kidneys, diabetes, hypothyroidism, and heart problems, according to John Hopkins.
With high rates of inbreeding found in Muslim populations not only in the United Arab Emirates but also in Pakistan and among Palestinian Muslims and even Christians, there is an increase in the number of health conditions that could have been prevented if a couple married outside the family.
In India a Special Marriage Act was drafted in1954 in accord with the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 which also does not allow marriage with any first cousin. But this legal firm writes that you can marry a first cousin in India if you are Muslim.
I met a woman from Canada, a Christian Arab who had come to Israel to marry her first cousin –– a concept that seemed foreign to me but which is more common than most westerners know. She told me it was to keep the family business –– in the family. Some hospitals help with hearing aids for communities that suffer from inbreeding depression and heating loss and in Israel, for instance, young couples are advised to undertake genetic counseling before they have children to avoid any genetic disease being passed to their child. First cousin marriage is not forbidden by Jewish law in sources that I have found online but it is frowned upon due to the possibility of transmitting genetic diseases.
The legal status of first cousin marriage varies considerably from one US state to another, ranging from being legal in some states to being a criminal offense in others. It is illegal or largely illegal in 32 states and legal or largely legal in 18. However, even in the states where it is legal, the practice is not widespread. It is also not common in Canada where I grew up and it’s highly stigmatized in rural communities.
