Pakistani actress Ushna Shah has called on an ending to portraying cousin marriages in TV drama serials.
“As artists & creators we should stop encouraging cousin romances in dramas, ” she said in an Instagram Story, while sharing a news item highlighting the adverse effects of the prevalence of cousin marriages in Pakistan.
“Generations of cousin marriages have resulted in countless health issues & birth defects in children such as thalassemia & learning disabilities. Let’s take this seriously,” she emphasised.
Pakistan tops the list of marriages within blood relations and the number of people suffering from genetic diseases is estimated between 14-16 million while 1.6 million mutations have been found in the country.
Consanguine marriages in Pakistan are 73 percent and the country has the largest community of deaf children. Cousin marriages remain common in the country even though the trend has been declining in urban areas.
As artists & creators we should stop encouraging cousin romances in dramas. Generations of cousin marriages have resulted in countless health issues & birth defects in children such as thallassamia & learning disabilities. Let’s take this seriously.https://t.co/B8WNd6JoYB
— Ushna Shah (@ushnashah) February 19, 2022
