Ethnography-Gender and Family in the Arab Culture

Introduction
The Arab world consist a mixture of racial, ethnic, religious, and social groups living in cities, towns, and rural centers. People from all over the world live and work together bringing with them different values, ideas, and cultures. Because of the constant interaction of the Arabs with the rest of the world, their culture is constantly changing. However, the constant changes never
affect some aspects of the society, such as the gender and family dynamics. For the Arabs, family lies at the heart of the society. This reality is enshrined in the law, which asserts that the family is the basic unit of the society. The family is in many aspects the foundation of the society not only in the Arab world, but also in others societies throughout the world. Every individual spends the first few years of life in a family, and this is where they learn the most important lessons in life, including language and socialization.
Ethnography-Gender and Family in the Arab Culture
The emphasis on family in the Arab society influence largely the gender roles assigned to the males and females in the family because the family is highly patriarchal. In a patriarchy system, the males and elders in the society have privileges and justify them in kinship terms. Females in a family are taught to respect their fathers, brothers, grandparents, uncles, and even cousins. The young people in society regardless of their gender are taught to respect their older members of the society, in turn; the elders in the society take care of the younger. The males in the society are taught to take care of the females in the society. These family systems generally enhance the power and privileges of the elderly males in the society. Elderly women do have some powers, however, limited to the younger in the society. Adult males have more power than the elderly women do in the society (Joseph, & Najmabadi, 2003).
In the Arab world, the family is obligated to take care of their members financially. The family is the source of assurance in case of unemployment, poor health, or old age. More than 80% of the business in Arab countries like United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt are co owned by family members. Family members help each other find jobs, own land, shops, and share their economic resources. The central position of the family in the financial matters of it members strengthens the patriarchal structuring of the family. The men and elders in the society have economic influence over the women and the junior in the family. Although women are entitled to inherit property in the state and Islamic law, most prefer to leave the wealth with their brothers as insurance. This is in case the marriage fails, she can go back home to live with her brothers (Joseph, & Najmabadi, 2003).
In the Arab world, family is a key political resource. Most governments in the Arab world have little to no social services; thus, the elderly and sick members of the family depend on the younger members to guarantee their safety and wellbeing. Family relationships are also a requirement to receiving certain government services. The family provides an individual with the basic political network necessary to access government agencies. For an individual to receive services, the political leaders must confirm his or her family affiliation and if the family members support him. The allocation of government resources to individuals is often through the heads of the family. This procedure often results in the political leaders favoring their families in the allocation of resources. The emphasis the family receives from the political arena turns it into a powerful political tool. Because the family structure patriarchal, the government favors patriarchy (Andrea, 1998).
Family is the main tool in public, private, and domestic spheres of the Arabs. The women therefore face patriarchy in every aspect of their lives. The women and young members of the family must be affiliated to a family to make the most of the institutions in these spheres. However, most women in the Arab world favor these system regardless of the many opportunities it seem to deny them because the familial relationship are a source of support for the women. The family and religion are intertwined legally in most Arabic nations. The personal status laws are a reserve of the religious institutions. Legally recognized religious institutions settle matters relating to marriage, divorce, and child custody. Religion is one gender-based institution. Clerics in the Christian, Muslim, and Jewish religions are all males (Joseph, & Najmabadi, 2003).
Family honor is the most important value for families in the Arab world. The respect an individual receives from the society is linked to the honor the family is accorded by the society. An individuals actions reflect the character of the family as a whole. It is therefore important for each individual member of the family to conduct his or herself with the utmost esteem to safeguard the honor of the family. The honor of the family is the responsibility of every member of the family, including the young children. Children are taught at a young age to uphold the honor of the family at every expense, including personal honor. The family members are all responsible to each other. The issue of family honor to some extent facilitates patriarchal power (Andrea, 1998). Honor offer both a protection to the members of the family and is a means of control, especially because of the political relevance of the family unit. The behavior of women, especially in public circles is strictly described to ensure the family honor remains intact. This enhances the power of the male members of the family over the female.
The socialization aspect of the Arab world families encourage individuals to always view themselves as linked to the other members of the family. The family shapes the individual to some extent. The extent to which ones interest is linked to those of the family differs between men and women. Women are expected to place the interest of others in the family before their more often than the men. The women are expected to view their interests as embedded in the interest of the other members of the family, especially the male and the elderly. This effectively reinforces the patriarchal hierarchy (Joseph, & Najmabadi, 2003). The siblings with the family are; however, competitive with each other. It is between these tension of competition, honor, and generosity to each other that the family dynamics play out. The female involved is as much as that of male, however, most of the time the female end up in the inferior position.
The importance of family in the Arab world is perhaps most evident in the use of idiomatic kinship to call up the prospects and principles of kinship. Often neighbors and friends may refer to each other as brother, sister, family, and other family related names. When one member of the family accepts a person as an idiomatic kin, the other members of the family generally embrace him or her as part of the extended family.  This is important, especially when seeking government services in agencies in which family affiliation are very important. Often when one wishes something done, he or she calls upon his or her real and idiomatic kin who in turn call upon their real and idiomatic kin until the job is done. The use of idiomatic kinship is especially important in the political arena where the politicians expect other members of the society to treat them with respect like elders or royalty. The politicians employ family idioms to justify the relationship. Their followers also use the family idioms to create effective relationships with the politicians (Andrea, 1998).
Conclusion
All aspects of the social, including the gender and family are constantly changing and shifting in response to the constant transformation of society and culture. Religion, class, and ethnic groups play a pivot part in the type of family structures in the Arab world. The pattern that most reproduce in these structures is family and the central position it occupies in the society. The family shapes the individual members of the family as much as each individual shapes the family. Family relations determine the notion of one, social, economic, and political positions. Most institutions in the Arab nations support the family centered structures, including the religious institutions. The gender relationship in the Arab world is complex, the family both support and suppress the women.
References
Andrea B. Rugh. (1998). Within the Circle: Parents and Children in an Arab Village, The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. 4(4): pp. 845-846.
Joseph, S., & Najmabadi, A. (2003). Encyclopedia of women & Islamic cultures. Leiden: Brill.