Arab Marriage and Family Formation

Arab Marriage and Family Formation Introduction Arab societies are undergoing major changes as new patterns of marriage and family formation emerge across the region. For long decades, early marriage was the common pattern in the Arab world. However, it is no longer the only pattern. The average age of marriage is rising and more Arab women are staying single for a long time and sometimes they don’t get married at all. These new marriage trends in the Arab World are part of a world global phenomenon. The changes of marriage trends in the Arab world reflect the social and economic changes taking place in the region. Arab economies moved away from agrarian based systems which supported both early marriage and extended family numbers [Hoda R.and Magued O., 2005]. The majority of the Arab populations live in cities working in industrial or service sectors. Today, Arab women are more educated and more likely to work outside their homes for personal and financial independence. These changes create a new image of wom an and change her past traditional role as a mother and household member. The objective of this research is the studying of marriage issue in the Arab world because marriage is one of the key important factors that determine the social and economic present and future in the Arab countries. Both problems of early marriage and increase of average age of marriage of marriage are explained. Finally, a recommended solutions and actions are proposed in order to naturalize the two problems for decreasing the negative impacts and creation of better Arab societies. Importance of Marriage in Arab Society Family is the main concern in Arab societies. Family is considered the main social security system for young and elder people in Arab countries. In Arab culture, parents are responsible for children well into those children’s adult lives, and children reciprocate by taking responsibility for the care of their aging parents—responsibilities that Arabs generally take on with great pride. Marriage for Arabs is thus both an individual and a family matter. In Arab societies, marriage is considered the turning point that defines prestige, recognition, and societal approval on both partners, particularly the bride. Marriage in Arab societies is considered the social and economic contract between two families. Marriage is also considered the right form of socially, culturally, and legally acceptable sexual relationship [1]. Early marriage in Arab World Early marriage is any form of marriage that takes place at age of 18 years. Early marriages are often associated with enforcement. Forced marriage is the marriage conducted without full consent of both parties and sometimes with a threat [2].From human rights point of view, early marriage is considered a violation of human rights conventions. In Arab societies- especially developing countries- early marriage, is considered a means of securing young girls’ future and protecting them. Wars and social problems m ay leads also to early marriage as in Palestine, where the intifada has led to earlier marriage. Many countries in the world have declared 18 as the minimum legal age of marriage. However, more than millions of young girls are expected to marry in the next decade according to the international statistics. [2].

What do you consider to be the core concepts of socialism as an Essay

What do you consider to be the core concepts of socialism as an ideology - Essay Example Despite the emergence of political and economic ideologies in various countries to initiate progressive change and uplift ordinary citizens from poverty, some leaders still practice dictatorship and absolute monarchy thus stunting their country’s growth and development. There are various core concepts of socialism that defines it as an ideology. For example, it has the economic system structured in way that workers participate in a collective means of production. This technique often adopts the social ownership means of producing goods and services while engaging in cooperative management for the benefit of the economy. Similarly, by being a social ownership, socialism deals with common ownership, cooperative enterprises and state ownership. Contrastingly, as a core concept of being an economic system, the socialist ideology focuses on market planning to ensure that institutions have a productive means of serving the interests of the citizen (Carter 2003, p. 110). On that note , socialism tackles different forms of economy under the concept of the economic system to find a balance with a capitalist state that usually fleeces its citizens through serious competitive machinations. There is the planned economy where the means of production is mixed with public ownership to permit distribution and coordination and also facilitate economic planning. This differs fundamentally with the defining features of capitalism because a planned economy has two forms of planning namely the centralized and decentralized planning. Consequently, to boost production, Marxists Leninists adopted the central planning to expand the economy. However, Trotskyites preferred the decentralized planning because they felt that it could be coordinated efficiently to serve all people and also support the local economic conditions. Under the concept of the economic system, socialism is also connected to the self managed economy where only autonomous units are allowed to conduct self-regula tion and other forms of decision making (Freeden et al 2013, p. 156). This model is exemplified by a cooperative economy that connects well with a free market economy unlike in the decentralized system in the planned economy. It equally encourages the application of computers in the management of economic units because it augurs well with the new generation of workers in participatory economics. Another core concept of socialism as an ideology is it being a political theory. In other words, it is both a political philosophy and a political movement unlike its counterpart, capitalism that is fundamental economic based. In that view, it aims for a socialist state where organizations and political parties are all socialist and hence connect to socioeconomic system. Karl Mark and Friedrich Engels remain its pioneer economic theorists who castigated capitalism for its obsoleteness and lack of sustainability to enable economies prosper in the 10th century. They argued that only socialism with the concept of a political theory would overcome the contradictions of capitalism by ensuring that the working class developed a consciousness to rebel against the wage slavery (Soborski 2013, p. 180). As a result a classless society would emerge and end capitalism with its inequalities particularly its grip on production by a few industrialists. The displacement of capitalism as a core concept was also manifested in giving

Honesty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Honesty - Essay Example Her feelings of insecurity and mistrust were amplified by the confession of Michael about looking at other girls and praising their style, outfits, figure or some other aspect. It is seen that in the beginning Michael is not honest about exposing his feelings towards other women but later on after the heated argument with his wife he seems to get on the right track of honesty. At the end of the story, Michael honestly tells his opinions about other women and confesses that he likes one thing or the other in them. However the question here arises as to if the right track of honesty was the solution to the conflict or not. Following this essay one can figure out as to if honesty was really the solution or not. The story starts from a Sunday morning when both Frances and Michael are walking on the fifth avenue. While the couple walk on the busy street Frances notices Michael staring at other women and passes a comment on him so that he stops staring at other women. They plan on spending the Sunday together without anyone interfering when Michael is again seen to notice other girls. This makes Frances a bit offensive towards Michael leading to a heated conversation in the end. At first Michael tries to ignore the argument but later on he joins the heated conversation leading to the end of their Sunday get-together plan. Michael has not been honest to his wife when it comes to describing his inner feelings about women until the last part of the conversation takes place. This can be clearly inferred from the story when Michael denies his inner feelings about looking at every woman for a chance in these words â€Å"I look at everything. God gave me eyes and I look at women and men and subway.......inspect the universe† (lines 90-92). Michael at this instance was trying to tell Frances that he looks at women just like he looks at everything else. Frances, however seems to be true about her feelings to Michael from the very start. In the