Women's Rights In America Vs Saudi Arabia

In comparing the two cultures, it is clear to see they both have shared views about the importance of tradition, but mostly contrasting opinions about woman’s rights, diversity within a culture, and community involvement. Both cultures find their identity through traditional beliefs, although Saudi Arabia’s is rooted in Islam and South Africa’s is rooted in the power of authentic ethnicity. In terms of religion, Saudi Arabia is much more absolute with 100 percent of the population being Muslim, whereas South Africa- despite having a mostly Christian population- is a mixture of belief systems. Secondly, Saudi Arabian culture is family based- children live at home until marriage, which is a obligation, and the country depends on familial loyalties …show more content…
Saudi Arabian cultures also show some concern for community involvement through their mourning rituals, but, other than that, they are much more reclusive and stay within their clans. They both view woman as the weaker sex; however, this perspective is shared throughout Saudi Arabia, whereas only rural parts of South African still view their society this way. Seeing how mourning rituals in South Africa are being rejected for they oppress women, it is obvious they are more equal than Saudi Arabian women. The cultures also share a unequal dispersement of wealth. South Africa’s wealth is based on race, though, and Saudi Arabia’s is based on social stance and gender. Overall, South African culture can be seen as more progressive than Saudi Arabia, despite the dichotomy between their economic climates and views on …show more content…
Saudi Arabia seems more ethnocentric than South Africa due to their strong religious views. Seeing as how discriminatory they are towards other religions- to the point where people other than Muslim cannot openly practice in Saudi Arabia- they would not be inclusive towards people from other cultures. To say Saudi Arabia would be accepting of other countries would be solely dependent upon weather they practiced Islam and where they were from. As for dating, Saudi Arabian people would consider casual dating or cohabitation without marriage evil, and this lifestyle would not be accepted in Saudi Arabia. They would also view cultures that don’t perform elaborate burial rituals or bury the dead immediately a sign of bad luck unto the deceased and the living. South Africa would probably be much more welcoming and tolerant of people with different belief systems, but people in more urban areas would most likely reject oppressive traditions. Because they are so protective over cultural identity, though, they probably could reject people who claimed to be true Africans who did not speak the language or come from certain areas of South Africa. Also, the more rural areas would be more apt to rejecting people from other cultures since they are still dependent upon their cultural practices and traditions. South African people in urban areas would be accepting of casual dating without exclusivity, but