You will recall that when we looked at gender issues and child-rearing practices as
observed in some Asian cultures, you could see the influence of Confucianism in the
socialization process. For Arabs, at least those who are Muslim, one of the clearest
delineations of gender roles can be found in the teachings of Islam.“Clear Islamic
teachings spell out the roles of women and their rights and duties in the patrilineage.
When women marry they retain their father’s name and seldom adopt their husband’s
name. Father and brothers are expected to assume protection over girls and women.”^84
When this orientation is applied to the family, you can observe that“An Arab man is
recognized as the head of his immediate family, and his role and influence are overt.
His wife also has a clearly defined sphere of influence, but it exists largely behind the
scenes.”^85 These two very distinct roles within the family are predicated on the belief
that men are stronger than women, both physically and mentally. Therefore, the argu-
ment is that they need protecting. So strong is this decree to protect women that
“Young unmarried women need permission from their parents or even their brothers
when they seek to venture from their home.”^86 The Koran is filled with specific mes-
sages for women telling them how they can preserve their honor. These messages range
from admonitions against using cosmetics or perfume outside the home to rules about
avoiding bathing in public places.^87
So conspicuous is the preference for male heirs that on the wedding day, friends
and relatives of the newlyweds wish them many sons. An Arab proverb
states,“Your wealth brings you respect, your sons bring you delight.”You can per-
ceive the preferential treatment of males over females in almost any given circum-
stance. Sait points out just how strong the partiality for males is when he writes,
“traditional Palestinian society views women largely through the prism of family,
honor, and chastity, and those violating those traditional social norms face
reprisals.”^88
In Pakistan, which also has deep religious roots, you can observe a specific example
of how gender differences are acted out in the perception and treatment of boys and
girls. Irfan and Cowburn explain the Pakistani family and gender:“In Pakistani cul-
ture males are more highly valued. They act as the head of the household, the pri-
mary wage earner, decision-maker, and disciplinarian. Elder brothers, or on some
occasions even younger brothers, take over the role of father and never get challenged
by the parents.”^89 None of what has been suggested means that girls are not important
to Arab families, but their role is to help their mothers and grandmothers in making
the home run smoothly.
We would be remiss if we did not point out that in most of the Arab world, the
rigid“attitude toward boys and girls is starting to change now that women are being
educated and becoming wage earners.”^90 This partial shift in gender stratification
and family dynamic is taking place throughout the world, not only in the Middle
East. Trask reinforces this important idea when she writes,“Westernization and
globalization have differentially affected all families with respect to gender roles,
child rearing, and maintenance of aging parents.”^91 While female gender roles are
changing differently from culture to culture, it is nevertheless true that more and
more young girls are not limiting themselves to stereotypical roles, jobs, or educa-
tional opportunities. That is, in nearly all cultures we are witnessing major transfor-
mations regarding gender roles. In numerous countries in the world women are
rising to positions of leadership and power. Countries such as Brazil, Germany,
Thailand, South Korea, Chile, and Norway now have women as heads of state.
There is a strong movement among African young women to question the notionCultural Variants in Family Interaction 87Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).