Dec 05, 2006
interesting stuff...
“When my female students talk about marriage, it amazes me how cynical they are,” said a Dubai-based teacher. “They say they would rather never marry at all than marry a man who expects them to lead the same kind of life as their mother’s.
“And they often say they want to marry a non-national. Nor do they want to be second wives; they want to be the first wife, full stop.”
Improved education, access to media and overseas travel are factors which have influenced young women’s expectations.
As recently as the 1980s, most Arabian women were married by their late teens
Most girls pursue their studies with their families’ wholehearted blessing, although some middle-class parents see education as a means to a more affluent husband, rather than the passport to an independent career. Many students hope to combine a home life with a career.
“Some students may not want a career, but they want a good education, because having a good education will make them better mothers and therefore this benefits the family as a whole,” says Judy Turk, dean of communication and media studies at Dubai’s single-sex Zayed University.
It is still rare for an Arabian woman to reject marriage and motherhood outright —despite the scare stories, some undoubtedly generated by conservatives, about a new generation of unmarriageable, work-oriented spinsters — but many believe that their domestic responsibilities are perfectly compatible with a stimulating professional career.
However, the government is sending mixed messages to young Emirati women. On the one hand, Arabisation initiatives call on young men and women to fulfill their national duty and make an economic contribution to society; on the other hand, the Marriage Fund is promoting the notion that women should settle down with a suitable — if highly conservative — Emirati boy.
It may take another generation to resolve this dilemma. “Many [female] students argue it is better for the country if they get an education, so that they can work to help the country,” Mrs. Turk says.
“These young women have heard Sheikh Zayed talking about Emiratisation and the need for the young people of this country to run not just the government, but also the private sector, and there is an element of nationalism, of ‘taking our country back from the foreigners’.”
- alexandra
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