Arab Family Research Paper

1120 Words3 Pages

In Arab society, family is important regardless of the tribe or community an individual belongs to. What family means to the Arab culture, however differs from what Western cultures define family as. Arab society puts family before all else, and is included in the social, economic and political systems in their countries. Often, communities, schools and workplaces all have influence from the importance of family in Arab society. The relationships that stem in these areas are familiar to those that form within immediate families. Arab society is patriarchal, the men are the main part of Arab families, and are the breadwinners, while women are homemakers. Women often spend the most time with the children to raise them and discipline them, many …show more content…

It is common for a woman to be a housewife in Arab society to care for the amount of children Arab families tend to have. Traditional Arab families tend to have more children than a westernized family would. Unlike Western families, Arab families do not believe having more children necessarily means they must "educate another one" or have "another burden to care for", another child to them means an extension of power and prestige for their family, and additional sources of labor (the book). Barakat explains how families are in Arab culture and effectively compares it to a Western view of family by commenting, "which is viewed as abnormal" or "is looked down upon", when discussing aspects of Arab family that may startle those accustomed to their own society's view of what family means. In Arab society, the relationships are often excessively strong, which would make those accustomed to the Western world uncomfortable, as Barakat mentioned. With the progressive world we live in now, Arab families have changed, and these relationships that are close knit, do not exist as they previously did in generations …show more content…

A young woman by the name of Malala Yousafzai is an activist for the improvement of women's education in her home country of Pakistan. Pakistan is known to have the second highest amount of school aged children that are not enrolled in school. Malala actively fought for girls to receive the education they deserved, regardless of the efforts of the Taliban to prevent girls from getting an education (https://www.malala.org/malalas-story). As a result of her outspoken ways, she was targeted by the Taliban and miraculously survived a gunshot wound to the head. Despite the well known threats for anyone who defied the Taliban, Malala continued to rally for education. Malala's inspiration originated from her father, who started a private school for girls in Swat Valley, an area where the Taliban was known to detonate schools ( http://www.yuobserver.org/2013/11/making-an-impact-malala-yousafzai/). As a result of Malala's persistent activism and bravery, the Malala Fund has been created in order to advocate for a proper, safe and high quality education for all girls (https://www.malala.org/about). Also, Malala has inspired the young women in Swat to continue to get an education, regardless of what the Taliban may do. Although, the fear of the Taliban still remains, the impact from Malala's activism has allowed for the young

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