Pakistan: Cousin marriages leading to genetic disorders

 

Scientists say inbreeding is causing an unusually high number of genetic mutations to spread in Pakistan, leading to disabilities in children of consanguineous marriages. Still, this social custom persists.  Ghafoor Hussain Shah is a 56-year-old teacher and father of eight children in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. According to tribal customs in Pakistan, Shah said he is expected to arrange the children's marriages within his extended family.

However, Shah knows about the potential risks of genetic disease prevalent in children from inter-family marriages. He married his maternal cousin in 1987, and three of their children suffer from disorders.

Shah told DW his son's brain did not develop to a normal size. One of his daughters has a speech disorder and another has hearing problems.

"My biggest regret is that they could not get education," he said. "I am always worried about them … who will look after them after my wife and I are gone?" he added.

Despite the risks of genetic disorders, Shah said there is enormous social pressure to adhere to customs calling for cousins to marry. Anyone who refuses to offer their children for marriage within the family risks being ostracized.

Shah said he had to marry off his one son and two daughters to close relatives. His family's medical history includes cases of blood disorders, learning disabilities, blindness and deafness. Doctors have said inbreeding could be to blame.


According to a 2017 report on genetic mutations in Pakistan, the "heterogenous composition" of Pakistan's population, including high levels of "consanguinity" has led to a prevalence of genetic disorders.


The report introduces a Pakistan "genetic mutation" database, which identifies and tracks different types of mutations and the disorders they lead to. According to the database, more than 1,000 mutations have been reported in 130 different kinds of genetic disorders found in Pakistan.

Huma Arshad Cheema, a pediatrician specializing in genetic disorders, told DW that Pakistan has a huge burden of generic disorders due to inbreeding.

She said specific disorders can be pinpointed to particular castes and tribes where inter-marriage is common.

One of the most common genetic disorders seen right now in Pakistan is the inherited blood disorder, Thalassemia, which keeps red blood cells from absorbing oxygen.

Genetic testing and pre-natal screenings for hereditary disorders are not widely available in Pakistan, Cheema said, adding that many health facilities also lack the capacity to treat genetic disorders.
Why do cousin marriages continue?

Karachi-based health expert Seraj ud Daulah said that the practice of cousin marriages in Pakistan can be traced to Islamic religious doctrines.

"I asked clerics to help create awareness about genetic diseases, asking them to explain to people how cousin marriages are contributing to the rise in genetic diseases," Daulah told DW.

However, he said the clerics he spoke with flatly refused, claiming that such marriages are in accordance with Islamic Sharia law and the traditions of the Prophet Mohammad.
Pakistan: Talk show on taboo topics rattles conservatives


Shah said many families in Pakistan go through with consanguineous marriages because they believe it is called for by their Islamic religion. Even if the government were to make such marriages illegal, it would be met with fierce resistance, he added.

Tribal and caste systems are deeply rooted in remote areas of Pakistan. Cheema said that the caste system, particularly among the Arain people living in Punjab province, is especially rigid and leads to many inter-family marriages. She said several genetic disorders are commonly found in this community.

In Pakistan's western province of Balochistan, the southern region of Sindh, and in the northwestern provinces, tribal systems dictate family life.

Ghulam Hussain Baloch, a resident of Balochistan, told DW that marrying outside of your tribe is considered a major social taboo. The situation in Sindh is not much different, where marriage outside one's clan or tribe could lead to murders and tribal clashes.

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Cousin marriage: What new evidence tells us about children's ill health (BBC)

 

In a busy, terraced house in Bradford, three sisters are animatedly chatting. It's a big day at their home: a beautician sits on their sofa, styling their hair and makeup. The room is warm with fun and laughter. It feels like a scene from a Jane Austen novel: three women in their late 20s, each of them bursting with personality, swapping stories.

And like most Austen novels, the conversation often turns to marriage.

The sisters are preparing for a family wedding at the weekend - where the bride and groom are first cousins. Many people might find this unusual, but in their family and in some parts of Bradford, it's fairly common.

Ayesha, who at 29 is the oldest of the three sisters, also married her first cousin in 2017. She has two children with her husband and their marriage is happy, she says. It felt perfectly normal at the time to marry her cousin. Their mother, a Pakistani migrant, assumed it was what all three of her daughters would do.

But 26-year-old Salina, the youngest of the three, tells us she broke the mould by having what they call a "love" marriage, choosing a partner from outside the family. Salina tells us she is outgoing and ambitious; marrying a cousin simply did not appeal to her. Then there's Mallika, who at 27 is the middle of the three. She's still single and has already decided not to marry within her family.

"I said to my mum that I wouldn't judge my sisters but I wasn't going to do it," Mallika tells us. She says having an education has created opportunities for her. "Before, even if you had an education, you wouldn't be expected to carry on with it. You would be thinking of marriage. Now the mindset is so different."

Worrying new data

In the UK and across Europe, cousin marriage is coming under increased scrutiny - particularly from doctors, who warn that children of first cousins are more likely to experience an array of health problems.

And there's now some new, potentially worrying data from Bradford to add into that mix.

Researchers at the city's university are entering their 18th year of the Born in Bradford study. It's one of the biggest medical trials of its kind: between 2007 and 2010, researchers recruited more than 13,000 babies in the city and then followed them closely from childhood into adolescence and now into early adulthood. More than one in six children in the study have parents who are first cousins, mostly from Bradford's Pakistani community, making it among the world's most valuable studies of the health impacts of cousin marriage.

And in data published in the last few months - and analysed in an upcoming episode of BBC Radio 4's Born in Bradford series - the researchers found that first cousin-parentage may have wider consequences than previously thought.

The most obvious way that a pair of blood-related parents might increase health risks for a child is through a recessive disorder, like cystic fibrosis or sickle cell disease. According to the classic theory of genetics laid out by the biologist Gregor Mendel, if both parents carry a recessive gene then there's a one in four chance that their child will inherit the condition. And when parents are cousins, they're more likely to both be carriers. A child of first cousins carries a 6% chance of inheriting a recessive disorder, compared to 3% for the general population.

But the Bradford study took a much broader view - and sheds fresh light. The researchers weren't just looking at whether a child had been diagnosed with a specific recessive disorder. Instead they studied dozens of data points, observing everything from the children's speech and language development to their frequency of healthcare to their performance at school. Then they used a mathematical model to try to eliminate the impacts of poverty and parental education - so they could focus squarely on the impact on "consanguinity", the scientific word for having parents who are related.

hey found that even after factors like poverty were controlled for, a child of first cousins in Bradford had an 11% probability of being diagnosed with a speech and language problem, versus 7% for children whose parents are not related.

They also found a child of first cousins has a 54% chance of reaching a "good stage of development" (a government assessment given to all five year-olds in England), versus 64% for children whose parents are not related.

We get further insight into their poorer health through the number of visits to the GP. Children of first cousins have a third more primary care appointments than children whose parents are not related - an average of four instead of three a year.

What is notable is that even once you account for the children in that group who already have a diagnosed recessive disorder, the figures suggest consanguinity may be affecting even those children who don't have a diagnosable recessive disorder.

Neil Small, emeritus professor at the University of Br

adford and the author of the study, says that even if all of the children with recessive disorders visited their GP more than average, "this does not explain the much wider distribution of excess health care usage in the consanguineous children".

The study, he says, is "exciting because it gives the opportunity for a much more accurate development of a response, targeting interventions and treatments"

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Marriage between cousis: a muslim tragedy

 

As consequêncis nefastas da burca para as mulheres muçulmanas

 

 O vestuário que cobre a maior parte do corpo (como a burca ou o niqab) limita drasticamente a exposição da pele aos raios ultravioleta B (UVB), que são essenciais para a síntese da Vitamina D no corpo.
Essa redução na produção natural de Vitamina D é um fator de risco bem conhecido para a deficiência desse nutriente em mulheres muçulmanas que se cobrem, e as consequências para a saúde são as mesmas observadas em qualquer pessoa com baixa de Vitamina D.

As principais consequências da deficiência de Vitamina D nessas mulheres incluem:

1. Consequências Ósseas e Musculares (Função Principal)
A principal função da Vitamina D é auxiliar na absorção de cálcio e fósforo, minerais essenciais para a saúde óssea. Sua falta leva a:
Osteomalácia: Amaciamento dos ossos em adultos, resultando em dor óssea, fraqueza muscular e aumento do risco de fraturas.
Osteoporose: Agravamento da perda de densidade óssea, tornando os ossos frágeis e suscetíveis a fraturas (especialmente no quadril em idosas).
Aumento do Risco de Quedas: A fraqueza muscular associada à deficiência de Vitamina D aumenta o risco de quedas, o que é especialmente perigoso em idosas.

2. Consequências Imunológicas

A Vitamina D desempenha um papel importante na regulação do sistema imunológico. A sua deficiência está ligada a:
Fragilidade Imunológica: Maior propensão a infecções, como gripes e resfriados frequentes.
Doenças Autoimunes: Embora a relação causal ainda esteja sob estudo, níveis baixos são associados a um risco potencial de desenvolvimento ou agravamento de doenças autoimunes.

3. Consequências Neuropsiquiátricas

A Vitamina D também atua no sistema nervoso e cerebral:
Depressão: A falta de Vitamina D está relacionada ao aumento do risco ou agravamento dos sintomas de depressão.
Fadiga e Cansaço: Sintomas inespecíficos como dor muscular, fraqueza geral e fadiga crônica são comuns na deficiência.
Perda de Memória/Disfunção Cognitiva: Estudos têm relacionado a deficiência com a redução de redes neuronais no hipocampo, a área do cérebro ligada à memória.

4. Consequências Adicionais

Risco na Gravidez: Em gestantes, a deficiência grave pode levar à osteomalácia materna e, no recém-nascido, a um alto risco de raquitismo neonatal.
Queda de Cabelo (Alopecia): Algumas pesquisas correlacionam a deficiência com casos de alopecia areata.

 

Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer 2013 reveals that political parties, Parliament, the judiciary and the military are the most corrupt institutions in Portugal.

  

Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer 2013 reveals that political parties, Parliament, the judiciary and the military are the most corrupt institutions in Portugal.

 

Transparency International's 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index scored Portugal at 57 on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean"). When ranked by score, Portugal ranked 43rd among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. 

 

For comparison with regional scores, the best score among Western European and European Union countries was 90, the average score was 64 and the worst score was 41. For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score was 90 (ranked 1), the average score was 43, and the worst score was 8 (ranked 180).

Fufas unidas, jamais serão vencidas!

 

Islamists Targets Gays with Brutal Public Killings

 Before a crowd of men on a street in the Syrian city of Palmyra, the masked Islamic State group judge read out the sentence against the two men convicted of homosexuality: They would be thrown to their deaths from the roof of the nearby Wael Hotel.

He asked one of the men if he was satisfied with the sentence. Death, the judge told him, would help cleanse him of his sin.

“I'd prefer it if you shoot me in the head,” 32-year-old Hawas Mallah replied helplessly. The second man, 21-year-old Mohammed Salameh, pleaded for a chance to repent, promising never to have sex with a man again, according to a witness among the onlookers that sunny July morning who gave The Associated Press a rare first-hand account.

“Take them and throw them off,” the judge ordered. Other masked extremists tied the men's hands behind their backs and blindfolded them. They led them to the roof of the four-story hotel, according to the witness, who spoke in the Turkish city of Reyhanli on condition he be identified only by his first name, Omar, for fear of reprisals.

Notorious for their gruesome methods of killing, the Islamic State group reserves one of its most brutal for suspected homosexuals. Videos it has released show masked militants dangling men over the precipices of buildings by their legs to drop them head-first or tossing them over the edge. At least 36 men in Syria and Iraq have been killed by IS militants on charges of sodomy, according to the New York-based OutRight Action International, though its Middle East and North Africa coordinator, Hossein Alizadeh, said it was not possible to confirm the sexual orientation of the victims.

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Nobel prize: the difference between Jews and Muslims

 

It is estimated that well over 200 Nobel Prizes have been awarded to people who are Jewish, which represents approximately 20% of all individual laureates. Categories: Jewish laureates are highly represented in the sciences (Physics, Chemistry, and Physiology or Medicine), as well as in Literature and Peace.
There are 16 individuals identified as Muslim who have been awarded the Nobel Prize. The distribution of Muslim laureates leans heavily toward the Peace and Literature categories, with fewer awards in the scientific fields.

Details on Jewish Population
    Estimated Global Population: The worldwide Jewish population is estimated to be around 15.7 million people as of 2023.
    Percentage of World Population: When compared to the current global population of over 8 billion, this figure translates to approximately 0.2% 
Details on Muslim Population
    Estimated Global Population: The worldwide Muslim population is estimated to be around 1.9 to 2.0 billion people (based on 2020 projections) 
    Percentage of World Population: When compared to the current global population of over 8 billion, this figure translates to approximately 25%