ROLE OF MEN IN CHINA, NIGERIA & EGYPT.   Term Paper ID:25083 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Overview of traditional & emerging male roles in marriage, work, society, law.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Overview of traditional & emerging male roles in marriage, work, society, law. Paper Introduction: The role of men in traditional societies is generally for the males to be the ruling gender while the women are given a subservient position. In certain traditional societies, however, this has been modified as modernization has taken place and as economic development has improved working conditions and the employment picture in general while also bringing this regions more and more onto the world stage where they must interact with other countries, notably Western states with a more egalitarian societal structure even if the reality does not always match the intent. The role of men in China, Nigeria, and Egypt today shows both how traditional elements have been maintained even as some changes have been instituted. Interestingly, much of the research on the male role today comes not from studies designed to illuminate that issue Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Nigerian men today appear threatened even though much of theirpatriarchal social structure remains in place. Still, old attitudes remain strong. Men in rural areasare more likely to be educated because families remove women from theschools, seeing no reason to educating a daughter who will marry and moveaway with her husband. However, the sexuality and social independence of women istightly controlled, while that of men is not. . none of the ethical teachings of the Koran have developed into a dominant feature in the actual Arab ethics of virtue (Patai 99). They have replaced the feudal family relationships that were based on the power of the husband and father. Understanding Arabs. The surname isstill taken from the father: Though the ban on marrying someone with the same surname has vanished, the Marriage Law allows that the question of prohibiting marriage between collateral relatives by blood is to be determined by custom, leaving the way clear for the observance of the old wu-fu system of imbalance, and so for the time being helping to preserve patrilineal bias. Women often cannot inherit the husband'sproperty, which instead goes to her in-laws. In the past, the male family head was given great power overothers in the family, but the legal equality of men and women, thealienation from landed property, and the removal of state support for thefamily head have weakened this form of family control (Baker 199-2 ). Economic growth may change this situation (Worden,Savada, and Dolan 143-144). "Rural Egyptian Women, Self-perceptions and Attitudes Toward Male-Female Relationships." Ahfad Journal (December 1, 1996), 31-42.Easterman, Daniel. Such changes are stronger in urban regionsthan in rural, though this will change over time. The male role in each of these traditional societies has beendominant over the female role. . There have been changes in the roles for men andwomen, changes that are reflected in the attitudes of women toward male andfemale social and work roles. Interestingly, much of the research on the male role today comes notfrom studies designed to illuminate that issue specifically but insteadintended to highlight the role of women. The role of men in traditional societies is generally for the malesto be the ruling gender while the women are given a subservient position.In certain traditional societies, however, this has been modified asmodernization has taken place and as economic development has improvedworking conditions and the employment picture in general while alsobringing this regions more and more onto the world stage where they mustinteract with other countries, notably Western states with a moreegalitarian societal structure even if the reality does not always matchthe intent. . A recent study showsthat young women tend to hold more nontraditional attitudes toward malefemale relationships than older women, and attitudes toward male-femalerelationship of newly married women tend to be more nontraditional thanattitudes of women married for several years (Dickersheid, McMurray-Schwarz, and Nawar 41). This is another society where the lawprovides for equality of the sexes, though there is still muchdiscrimination against women. "India and China: Religious & Atheistic Cultures," India Worldwide (May 31, 1995), PG.Women's International Network. A magazine called ChineseWomen suggested in an article that a mother's role in childrearing was moreimportant than that of the father and that this derived from new familyrelations in a socialist society: They ar equal and harmonious. In China as in these other traditional societies, men have long beenseen as having supremacy over females, but there are a number of ways inwhich traditional thinking is changing. Traditional Chinese society was male-centered, and men were morelikely to be educated than women, men were preferred in families, and menmade up the largest portion of the work force by far. Works CitedAyrout, Henry Habib. For this reason, the role of menis often set forth to show how it differs from and contrasts with the roleof women, as is indicated in a recent study from Africa: Images and stereotypes of women, particularly African women, abound. The intent of the government is evident in writings promoting certainideas about male and female roles in the future. Male supremacy is the ideal,and yet it is threatened by female sexuality, which is the primary reasonwhy females sexuality is so tightly controlled by men. More important, the normal residence pattern is still for a wife to go to live in her husband's family or village (Baker 191).Other elements of the old ways have been changed so as not to favor themale to such a high degree. These are largely agricultural workers who work every day of theyear in the fields: The fellah's work, even more than his physical and mental make- up or his habitat, is determined by the double environment [physical and social]. [Now] both the father and mother should shoulder the glorious task of raising children to contribute to the Four Modernizations of the motherland. . Yet, with one exception, none of them is part of the ethical system of the Koran; and conversely. Chinese Family and Kinship. This is true inEgypt today as in other Islamic countries, and as in Nigeria, there is afear of emasculating change (Easterman 26-27). He purchases a wife fromher family and sets up housekeeping. The Egyptian Peasant. Dolan. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1988.Newell, Stephanie. This does not mean ithas been carefully considered, for it is really more an attitude, "aconservative and entrenched way of thinking about gender relations" (Newell5 ). However, today the Communist government has imposed a "onecouple-one child" rule so that the imperative to have a son has beendiminished (Siwai PG). "From the Brink of Oblivion: The Anxious Masculinism of Nigerian Market Literatures." Research in African Literatures (September 1, 1996), 5 -67.Nydell, Margaret K. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1976.Siwei, Mao. Yarmouth, Maine: Intercultural Press, 1987.Patai, Raphael. Social attitudes have notnecessarily kept pace with the law, though, meaning that divorced women maynot be accepted in their village even though no guilt is supposed toattach. Women are not legally barred fromowning land, for instance, but under customary land tenure systems in someparts of Nigeria, only men actually own land, while women gain access to itthrough marriage or family. The Arab Mind. Many gender issues are tied to religious belief, and the dominantreligion is Islam. Nawar. . The fundamentalists in Egypt follow the Koran as the guide for alldecision-making and for the social structure, yet as is true in other partsof Islam, they tend to elevate certain ideas to a high level even thoughthey do not have a Koranic basis for them: Bravery and manliness, hospitality and generosity, and the honor syndrome, all pre-Islamic concepts of Bedouin origin, are the dominant concerns. It seems in fact the mere consequences of limits and conditions which society and the soil impose upon him (Ayrout 35).Among the fellahin as well, the male is dominant. in urban areas, though, men competewith women in the work place to a greater degree (Dickersheid, McMurray-Schwarz, and Nawar 32). "The Erection Is Eternal." New Statesman & Society (February 12, 1993), 26-27.Ekechi, Felix K. This is no longerthe case, and men and women work together in large numbers at all levels ofChinese society. Males alone can transmit Egyptiancitizenship, for instance, which in rare cases means that children born toEgyptian mothers and stateless fathers are themselves stateless (Women'sInternational Network [1994] 13). Looking at the current condition of families in our country, mothers play a more dominant role than fathers in providing education for an only child (Honig and Hershatter 181). Indeed, there has been aconsiderable decline in both divorce and polygamy in recent decades (Ayrout12 ). In both past and present, though, there is a strong traditionof dedication to sexual matters that favors the male over the female eventhough the law books state that a woman has the right to sexualfulfillment. New York: Columbia University Press, 1979.Burstion-Donbraye, Deborah. Egypt is another traditional culture strained by forces ofmodernization on the one hand and traditional and fundamentalist social andreligious views on the other. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1987.----------------------- 6 In fact, this vision of islam is a fairly recentdevelopment. There were many divorce case after the law was changed in 195 ,but divorce since that time is not common. The role of men in China, Nigeria, and Egypt today shows bothhow traditional elements have been maintained even as some changes havebeen instituted. Much of the patrilineal basis for the family remains. One approach is found in Nigerianpopular literatures written by men since the early 196 s, and one analystuses the term "masculinism" for that strand of masculinity where the artistanxiously re-invents and re-presents women to a male audience, "adaptingold gender models to maintain male control of changing social and culturalformations" (Newell 5 ). While this is changing around the world, ithas changed more in China where the state has imposed new laws than inNigeria or Egypt where the male fear of emasculation and the power ofreligious doctrines continue to hold sway. Divorce was once the prerogative of malesalone, but now either party can terminate a marriage, though arrangementsfor mediation are part of the divorce procedure to prevent frivolousactions. The traditional attitude in favorof a son in a family has attached great importance to the continuation of afamily tree, so to have at least one son in a family has been considered asimperative. Indeed, African women have long been perceived as docile, "bound to home and hearth," submissive to male authority, and even politically inert or passive (Ekechi 235).In Nigeria, there is evidence that some believe the traditional male roleis being challenged, which has produced various devices to protect thatrole and to disseminate it more widely. Personal Voices. Masculinity is the ideology supporting malesocial and political power still, and under these circumstances,masculinism is a more obsessional male mind-set. "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1994." WIN News (March 1, 1995), 1 -28.Worden, Robert L., Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Nigerians in general are family-oriented and traditionally-minded:"It has been often said that when Nigerians go to the city they don't leavethe village, they take it with them" (Burstion-Donbraye PG). . Polygamy is not uncommon.Women are not barred from particular fields of employment, but they dooften experience discrimination because the society tolerates customary andreligious practices which favor males. Reports of wife abuse arecommon, especially in polygynous families, showing again how males asserttheir dominance (Women's International Network [1995] 14). "A Bird's Eye View of the Nigerian Economy." National Minority Politics (September 3 , 1995), PG.Dickersheid, Jean D., Paula McMurray-Schwarz, and Isis A. There is a division of labor in Egypt between male and female workroles, and men operate in the public sphere while women operate in theprivate world of home and children. "Perceiving Women as Catalysts." Africa Today (July 18, 1996), 235-249.Honig, Emily and Gail Hershatter. About 6 percent of the country consists of peasant farmers orvillagers, making this an important element in the population (Nydell 13 ).The peasant class is made up of males called the fellah, a word meaningworker. China: A Country Study. Under Muslim law, a man amy have upto four wives, though this is dependent on his ability to pay for them.Divorce is possible with merely the pronouncing of a legal formula, but thefellah rarely make use of this liberty. Boston: Beacon Press, 1963.Baker, Hugh D.R. Based on outward appearances, islam would seem to bethe religion most vehemently opposed to pleasure and sexual contact of allkinds, for the Muslim male is not only forbidden to touch a woman but evento look at her. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.