Soon, it will be illegal for cousins in all of Scandinavia to marry each other. Advocates of the move hope more nations follow suit. Last week, Sweden moved to ban cousin marriages starting in 2026, reports the Local, and Denmark announced its own coming ban the following day. Both are following the path of Norway, which instituted a ban earlier this year.
- "The material gathered suggests that cousin marriages are often arranged and that the decision on marriage primarily lies with a family or clan and not really an individual choice," says Swedish Judge Anne Kuttenkeuler, per the Sweden Herald.
- "The background is that honor-related violence and oppression are a major social problem," adds Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer. "Far too many have their living space and fundamental freedoms restricted due to oppressive honor norms. Part of it concerns cousin marriages."
Marriage between cousins remains legal in some US states, with Tennessee the latest to tackle the issue. Newsweek lays out a map of where it is and isn't illegal in the US. Cousin marriage also is legal in the UK, but Matthew Syed writes in the Times of London that he hopes that will no longer be the case for much longer. Cousin marriage is linked to violent tribalism ill-suited to a modern world, he writes, adding that it "isn't just a predictor of an elevated ranking on the international corruption index, but also of weaker democracy, feebler rule of law, lower GDP, and fewer voluntary blood donations." The UK should ban the practice, but the more powerful move would be to encourage developing nations to do the same, he writes. (More Sweden stories.)
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