Ms MAY 11, 2014
ISSUE NO. 99
Bridal Galore
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A Family Affair: Cousin Marriages
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inside mother superior —
A brief history of Mother’s Day
domestic goddess —
Chocolate Indulgence
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Section In-Charge: Sarah Munir Sub-Editor: Amna Hashmi
An art connoisseuer, Noor Jehan Bilgrami
Ms
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the buzz
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, MAY 11, 2014
Cousin Marriages in Pakistan MsT speaks about consanguinity and its various health implications by Zara Hafeez
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In modern society, marrying one’s cousin is considered wrong and frowned upon. In fact, considering that cousin marriages are legally banned in 24 out of the 52 states of America, one can conclude that such unions are a little too close for comfort for most people. Due to globalisation, awareness about the issue has spread at home and the average, urban Pakistani is becoming increasingly opposed to the concept as well. “We see our cousins as brothers and sisters,” says 26-year-old Shanzay Malik. “The bonds we share with them are purely platonic in nature and nothing more.” Also, 24-year-old Mohammad Jaffer*, who was coerced into marrying his cousin agrees. “There is so much extra burden in a cousin marriage, like family feuds, jaidaad issues and the pressure to make your relationship work lest the entire khandaan react.” Jaffer and his wife succumbed to the same pressure and bowed down to the will of their families to keep everyone happy. Despite this, however, cousin marriages are far more common in Pakistan than we know. Awareness in urban centres may be making youngsters think twice before entering into it but our rural population still has a long way to go. Many parents consider it easier to marry off their children to easily-accessible cousins from within the ‘baradri,’ as opposed to searching for suitable spouses elsewhere. Parents are fearful their children will acquire a bad reputation or get excommunicated in case they marry outside the community and so, prefer intermarriages. This is ideal for families seeking to maintain a certain caste type within the household unit. In addition to this, the motives behind cousinly nuptials are purely monetary in nature and it is common for one cousin (usually the female) to be offered in exchange for money, farmlands, or shelter. According to a study conducted by Dr Muhammad Aslamkhan, founding head of the Department of Human Genetics at the University of Health Sciences Lahore, nearly 82.5% of parents in Pakistan are bloodrelatives of first, second or third generations (and so on). Out of these, 6.3% hail from the same extended families or castes while 6.8% are immediate cousins. Only about 4.4% of couples in Pakistan are married outside of their brethren. Although these figures are based on a sample size of 9,503 families, located primarily in rural Punjab, it is hardly breaking news
that unions between cousins – scientifically called consanguineous marriages – are rampant in Pakistan. Aslamkhan’s study also concedes that children born out of consanguinity are twice as likely to contract genetic hazards as those who are not. Unfortunately, much of the country remains oblivious to or chooses to ignore the potential drawbacks of such a marriage, in favour of financial or social gains.
If a couple itself isn’t the end product of inbreeding for the last few generations, chances are that a one off cousin marriage will be harmless “What people overlook is that medically, consanguinity can be very problematic,” says Maleeha Jawaid, a final-year medical student. “Consanguineous unions increase the expression of autosomal recessive disorders, leading to the infant being at a higher risk of contracting them,” she explains. In simpler terms, every human being carries certain genetic mutations which are recessive (hidden) but run the risk of becoming dominant in the smaller gene pool of a cousin marriage. “The closer the relationship of the parents, the smaller the gene pool and greater the risks,” adds Jawaid. According to Dr Shaneela Asad, a paediatrician at a leading hospital in Karachi, “There is a 25% chance that an offspring of a cousin marriage will contract a disease or disorder coming down from one parent.” Both doctors cite deafness, blindness, mutism, asthma, Down’s syndrome, thalassaemia and other skin, heart, kidney and neuro-degenerative conditions as consequences of inter-breeding between close relatives. There has been considerable research undertaken to gauge the extent to which consanguinity causes physical disabilities in children, most of which offer alarming results. Most recently, a research project was conducted in Bradford, United Kingdom, to study over 2,000 babies of Pakistani origin, born out of
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THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, MAY 11, 2014
cousin marriages between 2007 and 2011. The study conceded that the high levels of intermarriage within the Pakistani community doubled the risk of birth defects, with six out of 100 babies showing one defect or the other as opposed to a ratio of three out of 100 for non-consanguineous marriages. This constitutes roughly one-third of all birth defects in the British city. The most common defects included heart and lung diseases, as well as Down’s syndrome.
Every human being carries certain genetic mutations which are recessive (hidden) but run the risk of becoming dominant in the smaller gene pool of a cousin marriage. Closer to home, there are plenty of troubled cousinparents to corroborate the facts. Beenish Hamza* from Hyderabad resents the concept saying that, “My mamoo married his first cousin and had a child with Down’s syndrome. Later on, I was married to my khala’s son and our only child is deaf and mute. I may be wrong but I believe that these defects are due to the history of intermarriage in my family.” Shah’s family is now apprehensive of the idea of intermarriage after seeing how problematic it can be. A point to note, however, is that a physically-impaired child isn’t the outcome of every cousin marriage. On the contrary, if a couple itself isn’t the end product of inbreeding for the last few generations, chances are that a one off cousin marriage will be harmless. In fact, many families with frequent cousin marriages have smooth sailing throughout, such as that of Alina Shah from Lahore. “Both sets of my grandparents were consanguineous couples. Then, my parents got married and they are cousins, as are my aunt and her husband. Fortunately, there have been no birth defects in our family, ever.” Much like Shah, Mateen Rahman is grateful for his 10-months-old, perfectly healthy baby girl Hafsa, despite being married to his uncle’s daughter. One must also remember that should there be a genetic issue, it might well be due to some other factor or purely coincidental, as opposed to consanguinity in the parents. Nevertheless, considering that in many parts of Pakistan, such unions are customs that span decades, it is advisable to educate and be educated about the health risks before starting a family. “The chances of disability often depend on how much interbreeding has occurred in the family, prior to this,” says Jawaid. “Consanguineous couples need to be aware of these potential genetic problems and seek medical counsel before conception,” she adds. “Doctors now offer full-scale evaluations of the hopeful parents’ genetic makeup that can help determine the chances of a baby developing problems.” Dr Asad also prescribes seeking medical and professional help prior to entering into such a marriage. “I recommend DNA and blood tests prior to the nuptials. Haemoglobin Electrophoresis,
for example, can detect the chances of thalassaemia. Similarly, an overall genetic DNA test can also help.” Globally, cousin marriages are still going strong, with almost 10% of all global marriages taking place between cousins. Proponents of the practice boast of relatively low divorce rates in consanguineous couples. Also, they highlight the perks of keeping it within the family like the prestigious banking family, the Rothschilds, did – ‘it’ referring to the family wealth and property. In Pakistan, where marriages between cousins have prevailed for centuries, it is advisable to educate and be educated about the potential risks they entail and how they can be eradicated. *Names have been changed to protect privacy
82.5% of parents in Pakistan are bloodrelatives of first, second or third generations (and so on). Out of these, 6.3% hail from the same extended families or castes while 6.8% are immediate cousins
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Ms
en vogue
Rashid Ikhlaq displays his summer bridal collection to help you look your best on your special day
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, MAY 11, 2014
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THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, MAY 11, 2014
Coordination: Thomas Fernandes Label: Cara Designer Wear by Rashid Ikhlaq Photography & Styling: Arsalan Azaan Makeup: Fatima & Fatima Model: Saher Mughal
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Ms
mother superior
by Teenaz Javat
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, MAY 11, 2014
A brief history of Mother’s Day The second Sunday of May marks an especially early morning for 36-year-old Sadaf Bashar, every year. She is awoken by the excited squeals of her two young daughters, both of whom are anxious about the feast they have prepared for her. While many mothers across the world may take Mother’s Day as a chance to unwind and sleep in, the Mirza household is alive practically at the crack of dawn, revelling in the spirit of the holiday. “Ever since they could walk and talk, my daughters Saira and Rija, have been preparing a special breakfast treat for me on Mother’s Day with the help from their father,” shares Sadaf. “There is so much hustle bustle in the kitchen that sleeping till late is simply impossible. But my husband and the girls do quite a job preparing the treat — I have lots of eggs, pancakes and juices to look forward to.” This Sunday, May 11th, Sadaf and thousands of other mothers across the world will be woken up and indulged by their families trying to show just how much they appreciate their mothers. This year, however, is no ordinary Mother’s Day. 2014 marks a whole 100 years since the celebration was started by American activist Anna Jarvis in honour of her deceased mother, Anne Marie Jarvis. Born in 1832, Anne Marie devoted her life to local women — especially mothers — recovering from illnesses like tuberculosis, despite losing eight of her 12 children herself. She died at the age of 73, on the second Sunday of the May of 1905, three years after which Anna organised the first Mother’s Day in her honour. By 1911, the holiday was unofficially celebrated in nearly every state of the United States until President Woodrow Wilson signed a resolution in May 1914, designating the second Sunday as Mother’s Day. However, there is some discrepancy regarding the exact origins of the holiday. Although it is largely considered a ‘modern’ preserve, Mother’s Day dates back to the ancient Greek and Roman civilisations that dedicated an entire spring festival dedicated to their maternal goddesses. The Greeks prayed to Rhea — wife of Cronus and mother of many other deities in Greek mythology during the festival. Similarly, the Romans dedicated their own festival called Hilaria to their mother goddess, Cybele. The celebrations went on for three days and included public parades, games, masquerades and sacrifices at Cybele’s temple. On the other hand, many believe that the holiday arose in medieval England of the 17th century, wherein Christians celebrated ‘Mothering Sunday’ on Laetare, i.e. the fourth Sunday of Lent. This was done to commemorate
Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, but was later on expanded to all mothers in the country. People would attend ‘Mother church’ and exchange gifts of Simnel (fruit-cake) and flowers with their mothers. Children working as domestic servants for other people would be allowed to visit home to see their families. Despite its ambiguous history, Mother’s Day as we now know it can be attributed to Anna’s efforts. Ironically, she never ended up marrying or becoming a mother herself. Over the years, Anna became resentful of the commercialisation of the holiday she had established, realising that the local flower, candy and stationary industries were exploiting her idea to line their profits. She believed Mother’s Day ought to be a celebration of home, family and maternal love.
Mother’s Day is a celebration of motherhood and an ideal excuse for some quality family time Perhaps Anna’s concerns are justified. Large companies attempt to rake in profits by tugging on the consumers’ emotions and offering a variety of paraphernalia for them to express those emotions with, such as flowers, cards and stuffed toys, etc. Cosmetic giants offer special Mother’s Day makeup packages while luxury goods brands call on buyers with attractive discounts. “The idea is to thank your mother for all her hard work and patience in bringing you up,” says 23-year-old banker, Hina Shahid who is planning a surprise chocolate pie to give to her mother this Sunday. “Of course, there is commercialisation — the retail industry and holidays like Mother’s Day go hand-in-hand.” Nonetheless, Mother’s Day ought to be seen as a celebration of motherhood and an ideal excuse for some quality family time. Fortunately, there are still plenty like Sadaf and her daughters for whom Mother’s Day still remains organic and special. “Being a mother is extremely difficult and one doesn’t realise it until they have children of their own,” says Sadaf. “My own experience has made me appreciate my mother 10 times more. Therefore, this year, after I am done bonding with my daughters over breakfast, I am planning to visit Ammi and do something special for her. After all, everything I am now and hope to be later, I owe to her.”
domestic goddess 7
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, MAY 11, 2014
Recipe
Chocolate Pie Your mom deserves a special meal on her special day. This year, give her the royal treatment by serving this divine, chocolaty treat. I promise she will love it!
Method
Gulnaz Mondegarian is an expert in Iranian cuisine who has co-hosted Food Diaries alongside Zarnak Sidhwa to celebrate Community Food Week
For the crust: • Knead all of the ingredients together to make dough. • Spread the dough on a flat, buttered pan. • Bake the dough for about 20 minutes or until it becomes slightly brown. Retrieve it from the oven and set aside. For the filling: • In a large saucepan, cook the flour, sugar, salt, milk, egg yolks and cocoa powder together, at medium heat for about seven minutes, until it thickens. • Remove the chocolate mixture from heat and mix in the vanilla essence and butter. • Pour the chocolate filling into the baked pie shell. • Bake the pie for about 10 to 15 minutes, at 250o. • For added taste, serve with freshly whipped cream. Your Mother’s Day treat is now ready!
For the pie filling:
For the crust:
White flour 2 cups
Pinch of salt
Cocoa powder 1/2 cup
Sugar 1/2 cup
White flour 4 tbsp
A pinch of salt
Milk 1/2 cup
Oil 1/3 cup
Milk 1 to 1 and 1/2 cups
Egg yolk 2
Butter 1 tbsp
Vanilla essence 1/2 tsp
woman of the week 8
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, MAY 11, 2014
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