The recent episode of Biryani has delicately raised an important issue in our society: the impact of cousin marriages on their children’s health. Gul Mehar (Sarwat Gillani) has finally come forward with a reason why Meeran (Khushhal Khan) and she are not having children. Though it is a lie, she touches this conversation gracefully.
While Meeran and Gul Mehar have not consummated their marriage, Gul has come up with a reason that would make sense to her mother-in-law. She takes her to an educational institute for children with disabilities to put her point forward. This is met with an understanding nod from her, and she decides to marry Meeran to someone else, yet not Nissa (Ramsha Khan).
Gul Mehar quotes the example of her own brother, Haroon, who is a child with special needs. He was born to parents who are cousins, which might be the reason behind his disability. She tells how thelasamia is one of the most common diseases detected in children coming from an in-family marriage. She also said that autism and other mental disorders are prevalent in these families. Physical ailments also include hearing and visual impairment.
While the audience focuses primarily on the rekindled attraction between Meeran and Nissa, some have noticed that the drama has only briefly touched on the topic. Appreciating the effort by the writer to highlight the crisis, a user wrote on X:
Zafar Mairaj Sir @ZafarMairaj1 and team Biryani highlighted an important aspect of cousin marriages in episode 31. I appreciated how they highlighted cousin marriages can lead to so many genetic disorders such as Thalassemia and other conditions. 👏#Biryani @arydigitalpk pic.twitter.com/1j2y1ZYVEg
— Luckycharm_gal 🍀 (@luckycharm_gal) November 25, 2025
Another user endorsed the portrayal of cousin marriages and unhealthy children and commented:
Despite the drag in the main plot, a user was able to appreciate the drama serial for pushing a significant issue and stated:
However, some disagree with the portrayal and argue that cousin marriage does not cause physical and mental ailments, arguing that the rate of ADHD is higher in the West, where cousin marriages are prohibited. A user said:
While the viewers stay divided on the topic, research conducted in 2017 shows that consanguineous marriages(marriage between first and second cousins) have a high probability of bearing children that suffer from small birth size, malformations at birth, neonatal mortality, rare genetic disorders, hearing impairment, heart disorders and mental disabilities. The research further adds that 70 per cent of marriages in Pakistan are consanguineous.
