Patriarchal Society and Neo-patriarchy - Essay Example

An example of a patriarchal society and family system is that of the Muslim societies in Arab countries (Sharabi, 1988). Their society is "male dominated, male identified, and male centred." Neo-patriarchy is a modernized form of patriarchy but not modernity (Sharabi, 1992; Tamadonfar, 1994). Sharabi demonstrates this as exemplified by the Arab world. by showing how authentic change was blocked and distorted forms and practices subsequently came to dominate all aspects of social existence and activity--among them militant religious fundamentalism, an ideology symptomatic of neo-patriarchal culture.

Elhum Haghighat (2005) says a neo-patriarchal society is a "modernized" patriarchal society going through rapid economic development and modernization as in many oil-producing countries since the mid-1950s. As explained by Sharabi (1988), the process of modernization is a uniquely European phenomenon. Accordingly, only Western societies experienced modernization in a "pure" sense because it happened without interference from other nations. Today's developing countries would not follow the footsteps of Western nations because of their dependent political and economic position and their cultural differences (Sharabi, 1988; Haghighat, 2005). Canada. Canada.

The concept of neo-patriarchy greatly helps to understand the case of Canada. Canada is multicultural and therefore may be considered highly neo-patriarchal. In Sharabi's (1988) model, the patriarchy in Canada is cultural in social structure. Understandably, there are dominant and minority groups, as well as contending cultures and religions.Ziba Mir-Hosseini (2005) mentioned Canada as a place where Muslims live as a minority. A spate of media stories about multiculturalism in Canada is nothing new (Fahlman, 1994).

During one of their recent elections, there was controversy as to whether multiculturalism should be an "official" government policy with funds attached to encourage minority and ethnic groups. That the policy leads to a fragmented society of too many identities as in Indo-Canadian, British Canadian, and such like was felt by most (Fahlman, 1994). Many argue that if a group wants to keep their cultural traditions, all taxpayers should not fund these, as each group should fund their own activities (Fahlman, 1994)In Europe, Canada is ranked as one of the countries with secular government ranking (Haghighat, 2005).

This means the government promotes neither religion nor irreligion. There is hostility based on the perception that "special groups" are getting not only privileges but preferred treatment in Canada. For example, the Ontario employment equity policy has created negative feelings among "older" Canadians towards new minorities (Fahlman, 1994).One look at the National Anti-Racism Council of Canada (NAARC) website ("Canada," 2007) is very much informing on Canada and its conditions. For example, it is inferred that there is racial discrimination in that country.

The United Nations is deemed to have required the Canadian Government to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination as shown in its shadow report of July 2004. The report, covering a wide range of issues including immigration, employment and human rights, presents a community perspective on the status of compliance with the Convention by the Canadian government.