The Travellers Dilemma
I grew up hearing stories of my father waking up at 5am to walk five miles in the scorching heat or blistering cold to school every day and back. My grandfather was unable to afford the provision of higher education to his four children. He could only afford to send one child; my father was the lucky one. Unlike my father, my mother was not so lucky. My mother grew up in a house where women should aspire to be wives, not career women. As such, before she even graduated from high school, at the tender age of eighteen, driven by a cultural and social fuelled norm, she was married off to my father. A skilled baker and artist, the abrupt halt in her education and subsequent thrust into motherhood obstructed her path to a …show more content…
I was in the airport flying back with my family when I overheard a man talking about leaving his family in order to make a living in Dubai as a construction worker. I immediately remembered the towering skyscrapers, but, I also remembered the workers slaving away for 12 hours in 120 degree weather, making as little as 3 dollars a day, to complete Dubai 's next ‘big project’. Although culturally we were both Pakistani born, muslim citizens who had relocated to a new place to work, what struck me was the incredible difference in lifestyle the workers and myself when we would land. It found it unfair that a kid like me, who has never worked a day for his own salary, could be living a much better life simply due to household I was born in. The worst part is that it seems as if people enjoy the champagne lifestyle while remaining unconcerned about the workers, killing themselves to provide luxury for the people of …show more content…
I began to break down aspects of my identity into pieces and examine my culture in more detail. An example of the change exposure to a different environment had on me was the cultural view in Pakistani households for a wedding to be arranged by the parents of both people. In some cases the wedding would take place without the groom and bride had met with the intention that the husband will work to provide for the wife while she maintains the household. Although I have seen a change in that line of thinking since been exposed to western culture, these views are still strictly enforced in many parts of Pakistan. Not only does the disparity in unpaid household labor between men and women seems sexist and outdated, the cultural stipulation can have economic impacts beyond each household. Responsibilities for maintaining a home, raising children and caring for the elderly still fall primarily on women and girls, sometimes keeping them from education and the ability to pursue their career aspirations (like my mum). The underlying issue with such behavior is not only the waste of economic potential, but also the fact that because of such a problem is an ideology that has built up over generations with little resistance. I believe, as technology continues to develop and ideas continue to spread in developing countries, outdated social rituals will begin to fade out and be replaced, leaving
I grew up hearing stories of my father waking up at 5am to walk five miles in the scorching heat or blistering cold to school every day and back. My grandfather was unable to afford the provision of higher education to his four children. He could only afford to send one child; my father was the lucky one. Unlike my father, my mother was not so lucky. My mother grew up in a house where women should aspire to be wives, not career women. As such, before she even graduated from high school, at the tender age of eighteen, driven by a cultural and social fuelled norm, she was married off to my father. A skilled baker and artist, the abrupt halt in her education and subsequent thrust into motherhood obstructed her path to a …show more content…
I was in the airport flying back with my family when I overheard a man talking about leaving his family in order to make a living in Dubai as a construction worker. I immediately remembered the towering skyscrapers, but, I also remembered the workers slaving away for 12 hours in 120 degree weather, making as little as 3 dollars a day, to complete Dubai 's next ‘big project’. Although culturally we were both Pakistani born, muslim citizens who had relocated to a new place to work, what struck me was the incredible difference in lifestyle the workers and myself when we would land. It found it unfair that a kid like me, who has never worked a day for his own salary, could be living a much better life simply due to household I was born in. The worst part is that it seems as if people enjoy the champagne lifestyle while remaining unconcerned about the workers, killing themselves to provide luxury for the people of …show more content…
I began to break down aspects of my identity into pieces and examine my culture in more detail. An example of the change exposure to a different environment had on me was the cultural view in Pakistani households for a wedding to be arranged by the parents of both people. In some cases the wedding would take place without the groom and bride had met with the intention that the husband will work to provide for the wife while she maintains the household. Although I have seen a change in that line of thinking since been exposed to western culture, these views are still strictly enforced in many parts of Pakistan. Not only does the disparity in unpaid household labor between men and women seems sexist and outdated, the cultural stipulation can have economic impacts beyond each household. Responsibilities for maintaining a home, raising children and caring for the elderly still fall primarily on women and girls, sometimes keeping them from education and the ability to pursue their career aspirations (like my mum). The underlying issue with such behavior is not only the waste of economic potential, but also the fact that because of such a problem is an ideology that has built up over generations with little resistance. I believe, as technology continues to develop and ideas continue to spread in developing countries, outdated social rituals will begin to fade out and be replaced, leaving