THE SOCIO-MEDICAL IMPACTS OF COUSIN MARRIAGES (A CASE STUDY OF KOTLA JAM DISTRICT BHAKKAR)

Abstract

The aim of this study examines to find out the socio-medical impacts of cousin marriage. To find out why people prefer consanguinity when it comes to spouse selection and what kind of sociocultural medical effects it is going to have on their child-rearing. The focus of the research is to document the advantages or disadvantages related to these factors as well as the practice of cousin marriage regarding the congenital defects that are the by-product of this practice. To achieve these objectives are carried out in the village or community of Bhakkar the total population of the village was 500 households comprising 1500 individuals. The sample for indepth interviews selected by purposive sampling intentionally includes those samples who were having children with some congenital defects. To investigate the linkage between the practice of cousin marriage and abnormalities among children. For having in-depth interviews, respondents were selected through purposive sampling and keeping in mind to intentionally include those women who were having disabled children with some congenital defects. The major findings of this study reveal that people like to marry in their “Baradari” (Brotherhood) or endogamy’s marriages are popular just because of the ease of arranging just because of prior familiarity and lack of deception in an arrangement in consanguineous marriages. The study highlights that most people continue to marry their cousins respecting the tradition that has been followed by ancestors. The findings further reveal that due to the repeated or generation to generation that cousin marriages now there is a rise in the abnormal pregnancy children born out of for example the in-depth interviews with respondents diseases like genetic disease(AB), Duchene muscular dystrophy, Kwashiorkor, Muscular dystrophy, Osteogenesis imperfects, Cerebral palsy, Dumb, Deaf, Congenital disease, and Motor neuron disease. There is no medical curable