Koyya Durga (35) is yet to name her eight-year-old son. “I’m afraid something bad will happen if I name it,” he said.
In the village of Sriramapuram Uppada-Kottapalli mandal, on the Uppada coast in Andhra Pradesh’s Kakinada district, Mother Durga is among the many mothers who fear naming their children. He said the sadness and pain he brought from his marriage to his family was so deep and intense that he did not dare hold any celebrations of his personal achievements, including naming his children.
About 600 families in the village in the Pithapuram Assembly segment elected as Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan, the majority of whom belong to the Yadava community, regardless of their economic and educational standards, are suffering from common suffering – the burden of descent and descent.
Most of the families here are traditional shepherds who take up agriculture and water farming that grows along the coast of Uppada.
At the age of 13, Mother Durga married her maternal uncle, 15-year-old Koyya Appala Raju. Their wedding was held in 2002. “The family fixed the wedding six months after I came of age,” said Mrs. Durga.
Within two years of their marriage, they gave birth to a baby boy, who died of health complications at the age of five. The couple was childless for 14 years after the death of their first son.
“We were blessed with another baby boy in 2016. Even though it was a caesarean delivery, my joy knew no bounds. But my son did not cry like a healthy baby. We had to keep him in the ICU at a private hospital for 25 days in Pithapuram,” she recalled.
When my son was nine months old, he was tested, and he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. The boy even has seizures sometimes.
“Doctors concluded that some defects may appear when they grow up, but there is a possibility to cure them in the future. They said that relatives are the main cause of this health disorder,” said Ms. Durga.
The sound of the waves or the cool breeze of the sea seems not to be able to bring comfort to the residents of this village where there are too many children who are suffering from serious health problems due to their strict adherence to the culture of their relatives.
The burden of unhealthy customs
“Today, at least 25 children in our village, born to consanguineous married couples are suffering from various mental and physical disorders. At least 30 consanguineous marriages have taken place here in the last few years,” said farmer Perla Venkata Babji. who also married into the family. In two years, three consanguineous marriages were held in our village, the 40-year-old man said, adding that two of his three sisters had consanguineous marriages.
Elaborating on the high prevalence of consanguinity in the villages along the Uppada coast, Kosuru Ravi Kumar, Medical Officer at the Primary Health Center in Perumallapuram of Thondangi mandal in Kakinada district, said: “Many consanguineous marriages take place in our area. This practice is more common in Yadawa community and fishermen.
Nearly 70% of children born to ‘First Class’ married couples may experience health problems. Because of their genomic history, a marriage between a girl and her maternal uncle can be called ‘First Class consanguinity,’ he said.
Mr. Babji said that the implications of inbreeding started from the promise of ‘Voni’, which was made after the birth of a girl in the community. That is when a family member chooses a boy and makes a verbal agreement with the girl’s family that when she is of marriageable age, she will marry a boy.
It is also customary that when a girl has reached puberty, her parents remind her male family of the promise of ‘Voni’. The residents explained that if a family breaks their promise, it is considered a serious violation.
A. Vara Lakshmi of Perumallapuram in Thondangi mandal married her maternal uncle, a geologist in a Central government agency, as per the ‘Voni’ promise made by her parents when she was born. The Master’s Degree in Commerce that he held hardly helped him shape his destiny.
The eldest of the two children is four-year-old Akanksha who cannot speak, respond, or balance her movements and constantly needs a guardian.
“We never imagined that Akanksha’s fate would be so bad. Doctors at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS-Bengaluru) confirmed that she is suffering from Dandy-Walker Malformation (DWM) and it is a result of consanguinity,” said Ms. Vara Lakhsmi , who like Ms. .Durga, does not want to name her younger child, who is four months old, fearing something bad will happen if she celebrates the birth. naming ceremony.
The grim reality of the sick custom is reflected in the suffering of Ms. Akanksha inconceivable has, however, not stopped his grandfather from making arrangements for another consanguineous marriage in the family.
“Looking at Akanksha’s granddaughter, I hesitated to ask my son to take the same risk. But the entire family has given permission to marry a girl in the same family as ‘Voni’, and I cannot go back on my word. The engagement will take place during the festival Pongal is coming.Kadari ArjunuduVillager, Perumallapuram
“Looking at Akanksha’s granddaughter, I hesitated to ask my son to take the same risk. But the whole family has given permission to marry a girl in the same family as ‘Voni’, and I cannot go back on my word. The engagement will take place during the festival The upcoming Pongal”, said Kadari Arjunudu.
The crime of dowry
Meanwhile, in the Perumallapuram gram panchayat, every family has a history of kinship, said Buddiga Ramana, a local farmer and politician. “In 2019, no less than 25% of the marriages that took place in our village were consanguineous marriages. Now, it has decreased to 10%. Everyone knows the health consequences of consanguinity, but socio-economic factors such as land for dowry and familiarity with alliances are some of the things that the Yadawa community cannot ignore when making a marriage alliance,” said Mr. Ramana, who is married to his niece. .
Despite the high prevalence of birth defects caused by consanguinity in the region, no special survey has been conducted or targeted campaign to prevent the practice, officials said.
“There is no specific campaign targeted at the prevalence and prevention of the practice of consanguinity. However, our field level staff campaign against consanguineous marriages through campaigns from various programs and surveys from their homes.JN Narasimha NaikKakinada District Health Department
Kakinada District Medical and Health Officer JN Narasimha Naik said, “There is no specific campaign targeted at the prevalence and prevention of consanguineous practices. However, our field level staff are campaigning against consanguineous marriages through campaigns from various programs and surveys.
Dr. Naik noted that local communities are aware of the health consequences of family ties and still choose to continue for various reasons, including cultural and economic ones.
Prenatal Counseling
Meanwhile, Inspector General Government Hospital (GGH-Kakinada) Dr. Vittal said that he is trying to create awareness among related couples who come to the hospital for prenatal health check-ups. “We collect the history of the marriage during prenatal tests. We also ask about consanguinity, especially when some defects are traced. The families of both couples are invited for a counseling session where we explain the possible abnormalities that the baby may be born with, their causes and treatment. We have also performed surgery small in children to remove some damaged parts or prescribe treatment at GGH-Kakinada,” he said.
The father of a boy with albinism, in Srirampuram village of Uppada Kothapalli Mandal of Kakinada District. | Photo Credit: T. APPALA NAIDU
“In our area, especially among the Yadavas, they have to give land as dowry if the bride’s family has it and 90% of the agreed dowry is given in the form of land but not cash,” said Nagalla Srinu, an elder of Sriramapuram village even as he watched his neighbors , an albino boy, Krishna, born of a consanguineous marriage is leaving for school.
The sudden burst of economic activity, with the development of the Kakinada Special Economic Zone (KSEZ) for multi-sector industries in the region and the development of the Kakinada port, has brought unprecedented demand for land. With land prices on the rise, people here say the demand for land for dowry has also increased, forcing more families to prefer consanguineous marriages over other alliances for their children.
A decisive move
Meanwhile, Perla Nookalma of Kodada gram panchayat of Thondangi mandal took a decisive step to end the suffering of sibling relationship in her family. When two of her three children were born with visual impairments, she decided to end the practice and not pass it on to the next generation.
All the children were born out of forced consanguineous marriages at an early age, he said
Perla Nookalma and her blind son, Sattibabu. | Photo Credit: T. APPALA NAIDU
Ms. Nookalma, who is at stake every day, decides to marry her son to a girl outside her family. “People are starting to think of enemies as consanguinity. However, the lives of some people like us cannot be restored,” said Mr. Sattibabu’s 30-year-old son, who aspires to become a public school teacher. His wife, Ms. Kameswari, is also disabled. visually, but they do not belong to the same family.
“My husband died in 2011 due to a long illness. I had to sell the family land for 30 cents for the treatment of Mr. Sattibabu, who started suffering from seizures. My whole life is full of challenges as if I was born to face them, all because of my marriage,” she said. I don’t would have a nameless grandson in the family, he decided.
In Srirampuram, Ms. Durga, however, was careful. “I have decided not to try for another child. I couldn’t have a family planning operation because I couldn’t rest after the operation for weeks and let my child suffer. There is no one to take care of my sick child,” she said through tears.
“My sick child, who shall not be named,” she added, wiping away tears.
(Child’s name changed to protect identity)
Published – November 22, 2024 12:43 IST
