Select 6 of the following questions as the basis of your cultural research:
How are children valued and treated in the culture? Syrian children are raised to obey
their parents and respect their elders. They are expected to listen to their parent’s life
experience, trust in it and follow their advice to avoid making their own mistakes. When
they do make missteps, parents often strictly reprimand them to correct behaviour. A
child is expected to have the same religious, political and social views as their family.
Divergence from a parent’s belief or disobedience of their wishes is very dishonourable.
•
• How do the roles of men and women differ? Gender: In Syria, men and women have
equal access to the labour market at all levels of the workplace, including high positions
in public and private sector and they receive equal pay. There are many women in Syria’s
parliament (30 in 2003, including 3 ministers). However, there are also exceptions to this
rule due to a fundamentalist religious movement pervasive in the Middle Easter, including
Syria, that has appeared as an anti-Western statement rather than a deep religious
belief.
• The mother’s role is largely to fulfil domestic duties and care for the children. Though
gender roles are changing and women’s rights to education and equal pay are
recognised in the law, women still do not have as much power as men. They carry
greater expectations of social compliance and are sometimes seen as particularly
vulnerable targets that need to be protected. A mistake or an instance of loss of control
by a woman is still sometimes interpreted as a failure of the patriarch of the family to
protect her from doing so.
