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Teenager decides whether to marry her first cousin

Hiba Maroof, 18, explores the tradition followed by 70 per cent of her community in Bradford

Jon Sharman
Saturday 08 July 2017 12:51 BST
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Hiba Maroof with her parents in the documentary 'Should I Marry My Cousin?'
Hiba Maroof with her parents in the documentary 'Should I Marry My Cousin?'

A teenager has decided whether she should marry her first cousin - a custom that has been legal in Britain for more than 400 years.

In Hiba Maroof's home town of Bradford, around 70 per cent of young people with Pakistani heritage are thought to marry their first cousins, despite medical evidence suggesting the practice leads to genetic problems for their offspring.

Now the 18-year-old is exploring whether she should make the same choice in a BBC Three documentary.

"The genetic talk scares me," she said, after meeting a friend of the family whose children are severely autistic.

Should I Marry My Cousin? is part of the channel's Sorry Not Sorry season, which explores individuality across the UK and issues affecting people aged 16 to 34.

Ms Maroof's father, Maroof, is undecided on the issue but her mother Nuzhat is set against it.

Marrying cousins is a tradition even within her own family. Her uncle, who supports the practice, has five children and four are married to their cousins.

But because all her first cousins are married, Ms Maroof would have to find a second or third cousin from Pakistan, where she travelled as part of the programme.

However, her investigations result in a firm decision.

"I think after meeting all the people and all the places I have been, I decided not to marry my cousin," she said. "It wouldn’t be something I would be comfortable with.

"The advantages don’t weigh up for me. Especially because the person who is closest to me and I know has been in a cousin marriage is my mum and that didn't work out for her."

The documentary is available to view on BBC iPlayer.

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