Although there are some risks associated with consanguineous marriages, the overall risk is still relatively low.
Banning them may not be the best way of protecting future generations. Many factors affect the health of newborns to a similar degree, such as smoking, obesity and the consumption of alcohol, but these are not banned.
Instead, these issues are addressed through education, and a similar approach would be far more beneficial in responding to MP Richard Holden’s concerns. Allowing people to make their own decisions about their health and the health of their children would also protect our values of individual liberty.
Consanguineous marriages are the cultural practice of about 10% of the world’s population. They strengthen kinship ties between families and provide social cohesion and stability for communities.
European royal families have practised this for many generations for the very same reasons. The portrayal of ‘cousin-marriage’ should not be aligned with ‘forced marriage’, which has no place in society, and it should also not be used to stigmatise certain minority communities where this practice is more prevalent.
I hope that the government is able to take a more measured approach in its response to the proposed bill viewed through the lens of British Values and the law of democracy, where religious freedom and autonomy are prized.
Rashida Nasir
Hillside Road
Aldershot
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