FAMILY VALUES
Family values are a critical aspect of Chinese culture and control domestic morals and structures. As such, Chinese families have adopted similar morals and values that govern them in their daily lives. For instance, gender roles within the families in China have been apprehended with varying duties for both men and women in society (Hu & Scott, 2016). The man is responsible for providing, protecting, and maintaining his family while has the decision-making power in regards to family matters. Women are required to serve in a subordinate position in the Chinese culture as [art of their gender role. On the other hand, the Islamic culture in Egypt apprehends gender roles as men being the breadwinners while women take up the capacity of a homemaker. However, Egyptian culture does not limit women from getting an education or working.
Besides, the Chinese culture advocates for the “one-child policy” due to its criticality in family values. As such, society has been faced with severe social imbalances since the male child is responsible for continuation in the family lineage. Hence, female infanticide has become a common scenario in the country as compared to Egyptian culture. Egypt being a Muslim nation, does not restrict the number of children in a single since the culture also advocates for polygamy (Beitin & Aprahamian, 2014). However, the population in Egypt has been on a high rise compelling the government to launch a program dubbed “two is enough.” Despite initiatives by the government, the Muslim family values are against enacting policies since they do not align with their norms. Family values on the need to bear more children have resulted in a population upsurge in the last decades.
The Chinese culture advocates for family interdependence values requiring sons to continue living with their parents for their entire lives. The Chinese family values teach children to stay with their parents, thus forming a large extended family rather than being independent (Hu & Scott, 2016). Furthermore, family values in the Chinese culture ensure that traditional religion is followed by every member of the extended family with ancestors believed to play a critical role in their co-existence. However, family values in the Egyptian culture require sons to marry when of the right age and start-up their family independently from their parents. As such, males are accorded the freedom to choose what they like to do in regards to their preferred way of life. However, family values require the sons to take care of their parents whenever possible.
Finally, family values in the Chinese culture require children to practice filial piety, which calls for the utmost respect for the parents and grandparents. The Chinese family values require children to be obedient to their parents for the rest of their lives with any deviant treated as a lack of respect for the elderly. Ancient China treated disobedience as a crime, but modern society has since diverted from their culture’s conservative nature. Besides, family values in Egyptian culture perceive respect to the parents as the cornerstone of morality in society. Hence, Muslims in Egypt are required to obey their parents to receive their full blessings. Surprisingly, in Egypt, the parents require their children to negotiate when it comes to rules and requests before being granted (Beitin & Aprahamian, 2014). Hence, a set of behaviors must be discussed by both parents and children.
References
Beitin, B. K., & Aprahamian, M. (2014). Family values and traditions. In Biopsychosocial perspectives on Arab Americans (pp. 67-88). Springer, Boston, MA.
Hu, Y., & Scott, J. (2016). Family and gender values in China: Generational, geographic, and gender differences. Journal of Family Issues, 37(9), 1267-1293.