Cultural Values and Cultural Wars - Essay Example

Historically, the cultural values that are male-oriented come from the many historical wars that were fought for protecting Islam and expanding the power of Muslims in the world. Some of these wars include the War of Independence of 1857 fought between Muslims and Christians, and the Suez war of 1956 which was fought between Arabs and Israelis. Bravery and perseverance are good values and looking at these war examples, one can settle on the fact that it was required of the men to fight relentlessly without fear of life. Life was quite harsh for them in the past and they had to be extremely careful about their women to protect them from the invading troops. That is how they developed possessiveness in them. Females, on the other hand, had to remain at home and look after the children while their men stayed outside and worked for a living or fought against invaders. They developed sensitivity as they had to cope with myriad presentiments and fears regarding their men. It was also required of them by Islam to observe purdah from strangers. That is why purdah observance still prevails in Eastern culture. Cultures promote good values and people rigorously protect their cultural values because they assign an identity to them and distinguish them from other cultures.