Arab populations have a long tradition of consanguinity due to socio-cultural factors. Many Arab countries display some of the highest rates of consanguineous marriages in the world, and specifically first cousin marriages which may reach 25-30% of all marriages.
With 65%, Pakistan has one of the highest rates of cousin marriages globally, followed by India (55%), Saudi Arabia (50%), Afghanistan (40%), Iran (30%), Egypt, and Turkey (20%) [5].
Australian law prohibits blood relatives from marrying and this includes adopted as well as natural children. Cousins are not prohibited from marrying one another.
Throughout the Middle East, Africa and parts of South Asia, marriage between family members has been widely practised for thousands of years, largely as a means of securing relationships between tribes and preserving family wealth, but also as a practical necessity given that genders are often kept separate.
Cousin marriage, a form of consanguinity (marriages among couples who are related as second cousins or closer), is allowed and often encouraged throughout the Middle East, and in other Muslim countries worldwide such as Pakistan. As of 2003, an average of 45% of married couples were related in the Arab world.
Muslims have practiced marriages between first cousins in all countries since the time of the Prophet. Such marriages are allowed in many other religions and cultures as well. In United States, most of the states allow marriages between the first cousins.
You can marry other types of relatives or people from your household including aunts, uncles, cousins, step siblings and foster siblings.
So, what isn't allowed? Under Australian law it's illegal for a man to marry his grandmother, mother, sister or half-sister, daughter or granddaughter. A woman also can't marry her grandfather, father, brother or half-brother, son or grandson.
A marriage will not be valid if the parties are in a 'prohibited relationship' (s 23B(1)(b) Marriage Act). A prohibited relationship is one between a brother and sister (including half-blood) or between a person and an ancestor (i.e. a parent or grandparent) or descendant (i.e. a child or grandchild).
Muslim Hausas practice cousin marriage preferentially, and polygyny is allowed if the husband can support multiple wives.
Edgar Allan Poe.
For his second marriage, the famed poet and author of “The Raven” wed his first cousin Virginia Eliza Clemm. The two were married when he was 27 and she was 13.
Prohibited to you are your mothers, your daughters, your sisters, your paternal aunts, your maternal aunts, brother's daughters, sister's daughters, your mothers that are those who suckled you, your sisters from suckling, mothers of your women, your step-daughters in your guardianship from your women you have entered ...
Intermarriage is common throughout Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, although the rate of marriages between first cousins, second cousins and other relatives in the Persian Gulf region, estimated at more than 55 percent in Saudi Arabia, is considered high by world standards.
Rules to get married in Australia
To get married in Australia, you must: not be married. not be marrying a parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, brother or sister.
The vast majority of children of first cousins are healthy and do not have problems due to their parents' relatedness. It is important to keep in mind that even for an unrelated couple, there is an approximately 2-3% chance that their child is born with a birth defect, genetic syndrome, or disability.
In New Zealand it is not illegal to marry your cousin. Bittles said first-cousin marriage was more widespread than many would think and there were misconceptions about the health risks it presented. "A lot of people marry their cousins.
Adultery is not a crime in Australia. Under federal law enacted in 1994, sexual conduct between consenting adults (18 years of age or older) is their private matter throughout Australia, irrespective of marital status.
By definition you cannot have a polygamous marriage in Australia without being married to two people at once, which would make you guilty of the criminal offence of bigamy. Thus, polygamy in Australia is not legal.
When can I remarry? You should not make plans to remarry until your divorce order is finalised (in most cases, one month and one day after the divorce hearing).
In Pakistan over 60% of marriages are between first or second cousins. The highest rates of such marriages have been reported in rural areas, among individuals with low educational level, and among the poorest. However, cousin unions are also common among landowning families.
As far as Islam is concerned, a person's mother's cousin is lawful to him for marriage, unless there is some other reason to prevent this.
As per recent medical research this is being said that marrying with your first cousin leads to birth of abnormal babies. But as far as we consider Islam, it gives open permissions to marry your first cousin, even in Quran marrying these relations are separately highlighted.
Must first cousins be forbidden to marry? In the Bible, and in many parts of the world, the answer is no.
No, it is forbidden to marry uncles and aunts, nieces and nephews.