Islamic scholars say the initiative goes against the Islamic concept of “milk kinship” and creates problems for family law.
[Islamabad] Pakistan’s first human milk bank temporarily suspended operations on Saturday after facing harsh criticism from the religious community.
The Ministry of Health suspended the operation to seek further guidance from the Council of Islamic Ideology, a Pakistan government agency, after religious scholars declared the initiative haram, forbidden under Islamic law.
The breast milk bank was opened earlier this month at the Sindh Institute of Child Health and Neonatal Care (SICHN) in Karachi. Developed in collaboration with UNICEF and the Pakistan Pediatric Society, the facility provides donor milk to babies whose mothers are not able to provide enough breast milk.
The initiative marks a major step towards promoting infant health and nutrition in the Muslim-majority South Asian country, currently under threat from religious opposition.
It has established a dedicated facility for the collection, pasteurization, storage and distribution of breast milk donated by lactating mothers.
“We have established dedicated facilities to collect, pasteurize, store and distribute breast milk donated by nursing mothers,” SICHN Executive Director Dr. Jamal Raza told The Media Line, noting that the initiative is particularly important for sick or premature babies who may not be able to drink breast milk.
The opening of the breast milk banks has sparked a heated debate on social media, with supporters highlighting their importance to babies’ health and opponents arguing that they go against Islamic law on breastfeeding.
In Islam, a woman who breastfeeds an unrelated child establishes a bond of “breast kinship,” or rad’aah, with that child.
The relationship is similar to a blood relationship, and within the framework of Islamic law marriage between breastfed siblings is prohibited.
“The relationship is akin to a blood relationship and marriage between breastfed siblings is prohibited under the framework of Islamic law,” Mufti Syed Qaiser Hussain Tirmizi, a prominent Rawalpindi-based Islamic scholar, told The Media Line.
While breast milk banks have existed in the West since the early 20th century, the concept of rad’a has hindered their introduction in the Islamic world: a newly opened breast milk bank in Bangladesh was closed in 2019 after similar protests from religious communities.
The concept of milk kinship “is not widely understood or acknowledged in Western cultures, where family bonding through breastfeeding does not typically impact marital relationships or legal considerations,” Muhammad Shahid Masood Qazi, a human rights lawyer based in Birmingham, UK, told The Media Line. “The debate over setting up milk banks therefore reflects the cultural and legal differences between Islamic and Western ideas about family relationships and marriage.”
Iran is one of the few Islamic countries that operates a human milk bank, which was established in 2016 at Al-Zahra Teaching Hospital in northwestern Iran.
Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani, a former Federal Sharia Court judge and renowned Islamic scholar based in Karachi, issued a fatwa (Islamic edict) declaring the establishment of breast milk banks illegal.
A SICHN spokesman said in a statement on Saturday that the fatwa had prompted the institute to suspend the operation of its human milk bank.
Muslim children will only be provided with milk from Muslim women, and the service will be free to avoid commercial influence.
“Muslim children will be provided with milk only from Muslim women. The service will be free of charge to avoid any commercial connotations. Families will also be informed about the concept of kinship,” the statement said.
“In response to the religious criticism, UNICEF has asked the authorities to clear up the misunderstandings surrounding this initiative, which is crucial to ensure this vital project can be resumed swiftly,” a senior health ministry official, who requested anonymity, told The Media Line.
The health ministry agreed to consult with the Council of Islamic Thought, a Pakistani constitutional body that provides legal advice on Islamic matters. In a 2014 ruling, the Council of Islamic Thought ruled against the legality of breast milk banks.
“I believe a thorough discussion involving nutritionists, paediatricians and other relevant experts is essential on this sensitive issue,” Mufti Ghulam Majid, a research scholar at the Council of Islamic Thought, told The Media Line. “It will be crucial to involve Pakistan’s eminent religious scholars and thoroughly listen and understand each other’s perspectives and arguments.”
Tirmizi, the Rawalpindi-based scholar, said breast milk banks can comply with Islamic law as long as they keep comprehensive records of donors and recipients.
“This approach prevents potential violations of Islamic law regarding family and marital relationships based on breastfeeding,” he explained.
