Socio Cultural Analysis Paper
I come from a big family with six sisters and four brothers. My grandparents did not attend school. This is because education was not viewed as beneficial. Another reason that contributed to this is the parents were not economically well off and could not afford to take them to school. The second reason is marriage was more prominent and to gain recognition in the community you had to get married. The foremost things that gained you recognition were many wives and children. Education was also for a few select individuals in Islamic schools. With this reason in mind securing an education at their time was difficult. My parents are not well educated. My mother did not attend school due to social and cultural beliefs back then. Her parents believed that women should not be educated and educating a woman was a waste of time and resources. During her time, education was not necessary and was relatively new in the country. The social practices back then considered a woman only good for marriage and taking care of her family. My father on the other hand did go to school up to primary school. He did not see the need for education nor did his parents. His parents encouraged him to start a small trade and marry to start a family. Religious studies were the most valuable during their time and attended Madrasah classes to gain this. Coming from an Islamic community where religion is hugely valuable education took a back seat to many people during their years as young people.
Our first born who is a girl encountered resistance from my father before she could go to school. My father was afraid how the community would view her. The community regarded girls who enrolled in school as evil and a vice in the society. The community thought that school changed the behavior of girls. This tradition belief hindered many girls from attending school. After much persuasion, my father allowed her to attend school. According to her, people were only supposed to learn to read and write. The thought of going to school to earn a career was next to impossible or even a taboo. She experienced the same problems my mother did and the same cultural views. Schools during her time taught religion besides reading and writing. Eventually, her other subjects in school as education was adopted in Saudi Arabia. She later graduated from university with a medical degree. She is yet to practice her profession in Saudi due to policies in the country. However, she has been working in a different country. She is grateful to my mother for having persuaded my father to let her go to school. This is a monumental achievement for her considering that remarkably few girls went to school then.
In my country, women are allowed to study engineering, journalism and architecture. Women are allowed to study law but cannot practice in the country. The majority of women with degrees is in the education sector. Those who graduate in law assist court clerks. This is extremely demoralizing for them. I believe this was the reasons they put into consideration when they were choosing careers for themselves. Girls are now able to choose careers of choice without prejudice unlike before. Gender sensitivity was unusually high in the country, and girls did not just choose any career they felt like. They had to put this consideration in mind in order to choose a career. For this reason, my sisters have chosen medicine as their profession. They have majored in density and pharmacy. These subjects are not their passions but cannot pursue what they truly love due to the policies in Saudi. One of my sisters studied engineering and practices in the country as a professional. She is lucky to have followed her passion since culture changed. In the past women would not have a place to exercise their passion nor would they be employed. The country has its reasons for this.
Education in Saudi Arabia during the early years mainly concentrated in religious teachings and was for a few select. However, over the years this notion has come to change as many people embrace education and take their children out of the country to study. Education was mainly limited to religious teachings through this has changed over the years. Today my siblings have been able to attend school without many limitations like the ones experienced by my eldest sister. However, things have changed, and my elder sister and brother say teachers are now lenient. They also concur that students have become careless and do not put as much effort as they did. I and the other young ones studied in Saudi Arabia in primary and high school. Much emphasizes was laid in religion during the school curriculum Saudi is an Islamic society and prides itself in its religion. Thus, education taught must incorporate religion at all stages. The government over the years had opened various learning institutions compared to when my parents were growing up.
Luckily for me I will be studying a course of my choice since I am a boy. My brothers also chose carries the wanted to pursue without hindrance from family members or society. One of my brothers is an engineer while others have chosen field in medicines as areas of specialization. I would also like to be an engineer like my brother. Being a boy, I am lucky that I will be able to exercise my passion without prejudice. Engineering for me is extremely beneficial, and I cannot imagine not practicing, for any reason. Gender inequality is particularly rife in education policies.
Thankfully, my father acknowledged the importance of education in today’s world. He allowed all of us to study up to university. He says that in order to become better people in the society we need to be educated. This is the only way we can acquire financial freedom and become independent. I believe he accepted education in the family in order for us to become self reliant and better than him. Economically he is doing ok, but he believes he would have managed his business better if he had an education. He has also let us study outside the country to gain better education that is diversified out of religious teaching. By studying outside the country, they were able to diversify and interact with people from other religions. We get to view others we respect and share ideas on their religion.
Religion in Saudi Arabia takes a central role in education. Religion also determines the choices of many women in choosing a career, as it is gender biased. This is good as religion is foremost in peoples life. Many women who are well educated leave the country to work in other countries as a personal choice. Religion is crucial but should not encroach so much on education. It is terribly sad that professions of women gender are not allowed to work. The country relies on professions from outside the country to perform work, that can be done by its own citizens. Gender equality needs to be embraced in the first growing economy. Change is as good as a rest, and it is about time women are empowered to study what they like and follow their dreams. Many women would like to work in Saudi instead of looking for jobs elsewhere. If the economy of this nation is going to grow then, both genders are needed to bring change. Research shows that over half percent of students in this country are women; their hard earned efforts could go to waste if reforms are not adopted urgently.
Reforms in education in my country have come a long way. Globally change is happening, and Saudi should not be an exception. Women are becoming outstanding leaders, architects, journalist and engineers. No one should be discriminated based on gender in a work environment. It is extremely sad that a woman journalist was jailed in the country. Both genders have much to contribute if given a chance. No one gender is superior to the other in performance. Achieving gender equality in a conservative environment will be ha rd, but I believe we will get there. Women will then be able to follow their passion and not be limited by government policies. Saudi is a beautiful country that embraces different cultures and races. Saudi has changed from the time of my mother to date in education for the better.
