This is taken from a chapter in an Interpersonal Communication Book by DeVito ... I am sharing this to enlighten some issues on culture & ethics.
In his note, DeVito mentioned that women in Afghanistan under the Taliban rule, could not be educated or even go out in public without a male relative escort and when they do so, the women are required to cover their entire body in special garments.
For some of us, this can be considered as acceptable but to those who are not familiar with the culture may find it disturbing. As it is mentioned in the chapter, some practices would be judged unethical and even illegal in some countries. As shown throughout history - sacrificing virgins to the Gods, burning people who held different religious beliefs and sending children to fight wars are just some of the examples.
It is sad to note that even today, there are still practices which may be 'disturbing' to some, being performed or practised by certain cultures. Namely
- bronco riding - a practice where a bull's testicles are tied so that it experiences so much pain that it bucks and tries to throw off the rider
- clitoridectomy - whereby part or all of a young girl's clitoris is surgically removed so that she can never experience sexual intercourse without extreme pain, a practice designed to keep her a virgin until marriage
- the belief and practice that a woman must be subservient to her husband's will
- the practice of wearing fur - in some cases necessitating the killing of wild animals and in others raising animals so they can be killed when their pelts are worth the most money
It is a good exercise to start thinking about the cultural diversity that we have here in our own country. Perhaps we should view things in the lights of other culture to understand it better ourself.
( DeVito, Joseph A.(2004).The interpersonal communication book,Pearson Education, U.S.A )
2 comments:
Eh? Come to think of it, there're lots more cultural practises imposed esp. on women. Sian kan? What wrong had we done to be subjected to this kind of scrutiny? If you can highlight more on this in your next post it'll be great.
BTW, where're you guys???
well.. FYI on y it was set towards woman is for the woman's protection.. lol.. no la.. that's a typical thinking..
IMHO, n i'm sorry to say (as i've been bashed for saying this by u guys), the way people look at womens are differs from the way people look at mens.. heh..
look at kecheq's first example of the taliban rules.. and i'll give u an easy example.. a fried chicken.. lol.. which one would u go for.. a fried chicken on a plate, or, a fried chicken in a black box..?? lol.. i know i'm gonna be bashed after this..
n actually, u guys have to accept the fact(i'm not trying to be a male chauvinist), that woman are so fragile.. and what the world (of course the opposite sex) can do bout it..?? so called 'protect' them.. heh..
we're absolutely off the topic Long.. heh.. kecheq will be angry.. occay.. bout the cultural practise that u've been writing about.. well, that's what makes some cultures 'unique'.. for example japanese people.. there's no way other people would greet anyone by bending over to respect them.. and yet, they took their time (at least 3 seconds each bent) to show respect.. and what u wrote here is about the other side of culture practise.. maybe that Joseph A. Devito is trying to expose to the world the other side of culture practise.. the side that not all people knew.. maybe for us we would think "why should i wear Hijab (it's Hijab btw, the garment u wrote about), it's too much hassle.." well, maybe for u.. but for the true reason for them (maybe), it's a way to protect their against sexual assault and unintentionally protects them for environment harms..
a long comment indeed..
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