Modern British and Saudi Arabia Societies - Report Example

Comparison between modern British society and that of Saudi Arabia Introduction Britain and Saudi Arabia have entirely different cultures and socialsetups. Britain is dominated by Christian community whereas Saudi Arabia is a Muslim country. Britain is a constitutional monarchy consisting of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Even though the monarch is the head of the country, the power of monarch lies on papers alone. Britain is governed by parliamentary democratic system in which Judiciary, Executive and Legislative body or Parliament function together and ensures the democratic administration. On the other hand Saudi Arabia is governed by Islamic administration with the King holds the supreme power. The climatic conditions in Britain and Saudi Arabia are entirely different. British climate is pleasant and most of the times it stays on the colder side whereas extremely hot and humid conditions are prevailing in Saudi Arabia in majority of the seasons of a year. Britain is located in Western Europe with a land size of 244,820 sq km. British population is around 60,270,708 according to July 2004 statistics (Facts about Great Britain, n. d). Saudi on the other hand is located in Asia and bigger than Britain with land size of 2,149,690 sq km. According to the 2010 statistics, Saudi population is 29,207,277 (Saudi Arabia, 2010). This paper makes a useful academic comparison between modern British society and that of Saudi Arabia in terms of youth culture, social welfare, gender roles etc. Youth culture in Britain and Saudi Arabia Youth culture can be defined as a youth-based subculture in which the behaviors and interests of the youth community is analyzed. For examples it is not necessary that the tastes, dressings, hobbies, life styles etc of British youths and the Saudi youths might be the same. Social Anthropologist Dr. David Sinclair has mentioned an incident in which a teenager kicked a pensioner in the face until blood bubble appears on the old man’s nose. The teenager continued his activities in the street until the pensioner hands over his money to the youth. The police failed to arrive at the spot in time and the gathered public, mostly youths, laugh hysterically and jeer at the old man (Daily Squib, 2007). Unemployment is a big problem in Britain which forces the youth community to engage in antisocial activities like the one mentioned above. Drug and alcohol addiction is another major problem among British youths which contribute heavily to their violent behaviors. Saudi Arabia has comparatively less amount of youth violence because of the strict rules and regulation of the Islamic administration. Freedom enjoyed by the Saudi youths is limited compared to the British youths and more over Saudi culture is not liberal just like the British culture. Even then, current Saudi youths are demonstrating more liberal culture in their behavior. Andrew Hammond (2007) mentioned an incident in which a “19-year-old Shiite woman was abducted and raped along with a male companion by seven men last year” (Hammond, 2007). Both British and Saudi youths are very much interested in sports and Football is one among the most favorite games in these countries. The clothing of British and Saudi youths is entirely different because of the differences in their culture and climatic conditions. British youths expose their body more than the Saudi youths. Social welfare in Britain and Saudi Arabia The term social welfare can be defined as the work consists of actions or procedures, from the governments and institutions in order to promote the basic well-being of individuals. The gap between the rich and poor should be reduced in order to achieve the objectives of a well defined social welfare policy. In Britain, social welfare is administered in different ways. Well defined policies in healthcare, social services and the programs for the welfare of poor and needy people are some of the major features of British social welfare program. Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor (2010) has mentioned that in Britain, “some unemployed or low-paid households receiving over $150,000 annually in housing allowances” (Al Habtoor, 2010) Saudi Arabia on the other hand, offers a wide range of social welfare programs such as support for workers or their families in cases of disability, retirement and death. Moreover, plan to cover employees who suffer occupational hazards, social security pensions, benefits and relief assistance to the disabled, elderly, orphans and widows without income, monthly stipends depending on individual status and need etc are some other social welfare policies in Saudi Arabia (Social Services Network, 2010). “Among developing nations, as categorized by the United Nations in 2005, Saudi Arabia ranks thirty-second out of 103 countries on the Human Poverty Index, ahead of most of its Middle East neighbors” (Library of Congress – Federal Research Division, 2006, p.9). Even though Saudi Arabia has enormous oil and other natural resources, the standard of living and unemployment rates in Saudi Arabia are not matching with the global standards. It is a fact that Saudi Arabia is far ahead of its Middle East neighbors on the Human Poverty Index whereas it is far below, compared to Britain in Human Poverty Index. Social welfare in Saudi Arabia cannot match the British standards because of the tight Islamic rules in Saudi Arabia. Compared to Britain, Saudi has a bad reputation as far as the human right issues are concerned. Women community in Saudi Arabia has limited freedom compared to that of the British women. Gender roles in Britain and Saudi Arabia The behaviors, attitudes, and activities of males and females are referred as gender roles. Gender roles in Britain and Saudi Arabia have more differences than the similarities. In Britain both males and females enjoy equality whereas same thing cannot be said about the Saudi Arabian society. In Britain, females can work same way like the males. For example, British females work in top level management positions just like the British males. On the other hand, opportunities for Saudi females in higher level management positions are restricted. British females can even work in the military for the defense of their country. In fact a female, Queen Elizabeth is the head of Britain at present. Moreover, a couple of decades before, Margaret Thatcher, another lady, was the Prime Minister of Britain. On the other hand, it is difficult to anticipate such female power in Saudi Arabia at least in the near future because of the male domination. “Women in the position of power, is something that the English dont have a problem with accepting” (Hill, n. d) whereas such things are unimaginable in Saudi social setups. Women in Saudi Arabia are not permitted to drive because of the male domination in their society whereas in Britain anybody who has a driving license can drive vehicles. Even though some Saudis advocate the idea of women driving, “there is a large percentage of Saudi Arabians who are still concerned, scared, skeptical, and oppose change” (Al-Rashed, 2010) All Saudi women require a male guardian irrespective of their age. In other words, women in Saudi Arabia forced to live under the control of a male during their entire life period. It is impossible for them to engage in any critical activities without seeking permission from their male guardian. On the other hand, British males and females have almost similar freedom in doing something. Saudi women don’t have voting rights whereas the British women have equal rights in voting and government formation. “The World Economic Forum 2009 Global Gender Gap Report ranked Saudi Arabia 130th out of 134 countries for gender parity. It was the only country to score a zero in the category of political empowerment (Al-Rashed, 2010) Conclusions Saudi Arabian and British cultures are entirely different. Saudi youths and British youths are different in their clothing, life styles, way of thinking etc. Morality and ethics have higher values in Saudi Arabia compared to Britain because of the domination of religion in Saudi politics. Youth violence in Saudi Arabia is comparatively less than that in Britain. Unemployment, drug and alcohol addiction are some of the major youth problems in Britain whereas in Saudi Arabia such problems are relatively small. Social welfare policies in Britain seem to be far better than that in Saudi Arabia. Compared to Britain, Saudi has a bad reputation as far as human right issues are concerned. Women community in Saudi Arabia has limited freedom compared to that of the British women. The male domination prevented Saudi women from actively engage in any of the social activities. Saudi women are not permitted to live without a male guardian and they cannot even think of driving a vehicle. Both males and females have similar and equal rights in Britain because of the democratic administration whereas in Saudi Arabia women community have lot of restrictions because of the Islamic administration. In short, Saudi Arabia and Britain have contrasting cultures because of the different types of administration and the religious beliefs in their countries. References 1. Al Habtoor, K.A., (2010), Social welfare drains Britains coffers, [Online], Available at: The Daily Star http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=116941#axzz0xhova6vU, [Accessed 26 August 2010] 2. Al-Rashed, A.R., (n. d.), Women Will Not Drive Cars in Saudi Arabia!, [Online], Available at: http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=2&id=21106, [Accessed 26 August 2010] 3. British Youth Culture 2007,(2007), [Online], Available at: Daily Squib, http://www.dailysquib.co.uk/?c=117&a=1094, [Accessed 26 August 2010] 4. Facts about Great Britain, (n. d), [Online], Available at: http://www.facts-about.org.uk/places-geography-great-britain.htm , [Accessed 26 August 2010] 5. Hammond, A., (2007), Saudi king pardons rape victim, [Online], Available at: Reuters http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL1713777420071217?sp=true , [Accessed 26 August 2010] 6. Hill, T., (n.d), Gender Roles in England, [Online], Available at: http://ruby.fgcu.edu/courses/10251/e08hill.htm, [Accessed 26 August 2010] 7. Library of Congress – Federal Research Division, (2006), Country Profile: Saudi Arabia, [Online], Available at: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Saudi_Arabia.pdf, p.9, [Accessed 26 August 2010] 8. Saudi Arabia, (2010), [Online], Available at: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107947.html#axzz0xhZnnXZP, [Accessed 26 August 2010] 9. Social services network, (2010), [Online], Available at: http://www.saudiembassy.net/about/country-information/health_and_social_services/social_services_network.aspx, [Accessed 26 August 2010] Read More