الاسرة والقرابة ووضع المراة في مجتمع متغير : دراسة اجتماعية لمدينة تعز القديمة في اليمن

Abstract

ABSTRACT This research deals with the cultural, economic and social changes which affected the original inhabitants of the old city Taiz. Basically, the research deals with the family and kinship systems and with the position of women before and after the Yemeni Revolution of 1962. This revolution is considered a very important historical event for the Yemeni society, since it represents a dividing line between the closed society of isolation and backwardness before the revolution and the open society of change and development after it. the data and information have been collected through observation, meetings and discussions as well asaquestionire applied to 600 families which represent twenty per cent of the population of the old city Taiz. Also the genotype method has been used. Comparing the closed society system and the open society system has revealed that very important changes have taken place in the kinship and family systems and in the position of women. ' ' The traditional very large family pattern had the following characteristics I The whole large family lived in one big house including the grandparents, their sons and their grandchildren. The authority and decisions making were the prerogative ofthe grandfather and all the other members obeyed his orders and respected his decisions. The interests of the family were given priority over any other interests, Solidarity and cooperation with the family and loyalty to it dominated the behavior of the individual members. Internal marriages (endogamy)withinthefamilywere frequent. Ownership of the house and furniture belonged to the family, usually in the name of the grandfather. Thus the very large family formed one economic and cooperative unit and mostly practiced one profession or trade. Of course there were social differences and class stratifications on the basis of the interrelations between the economic activity and other social considerations such as descent and in-laws. The large family was part of the very large family, and formed the nucleus of the very large family. The dominant pattern was the expanded family consisting of three or four generations, the husband practicing polygamy, all living in one big house or in the houses of one block carrying the name of the family (The house of Mr. X ). Small nuclear families were rare and their existence resulted from the family circumstances such as the lack of productivity in the wives and the small number of their members. A woman’s position in such families was bad. She wasa prisoner in her house, was rarely allowed to appear before others. Whenever she was allowed to go out she had to be completely covered and veiled and had to be chaperoned by her father, brother or husband. She lived in perfect isolation from others except on rare occasions when she could meet with other women in Qat sessions. She suffered from illiteracy, ignorance, sickness and social oppression. She was tougue-tied and was not allowed to participate in family decisions, nor was she allowed to voice an opinion about her marriage . At an early age she was married to a husband under whose authority she lived in anxiety and fear of being divorced . She practiced no economic activity except in rare cases and under certain conditions. This miserable position of women was supported by the political regime then dominant. After the 1962 revolution changes began to affect the family and kinship system and size and also the position of women . The country has become open to new channels of human civilization . Education increased and expanded . New laws were decreed which gave men and women equal rights. New industries came into the country. The economy of the exchange of local products began to be replaced by capitalistic economy .New and varied economic activities began to appear. Class strotificatian on the basis of descent in -laws, and traditional trades and professions began to be replaced by stratification on the basis of capital owned . The economic factor became the standard for classifying the inhabitants of the city, replacing the social standards of the past. This has led to the weakening of family ties and to the dividing the very large families and the large families into small nuclear families which are economically and politically independent . The position of women also has been affected. Women began to go out of home to schools, colleges, and jobs . They began to have a voice in family decisions, in the life of the community , and even in politics. Nevertheless, women still suffer from some inherited traditions and values of the past which some people still cling to . This has led to the rise of conflict within the family and to the rise of social problems some of which are caused by the women themselves, especially those who rush into the new changes without objectively considering the circumstances. lt may be said that the old pattern and the new pattern coexist together. In spite of their basic opposition they have in common many points . This helps the members of society to adapt themselves to the new pattern , reorganise themselves , practice new economic activities , benefit from the new opportunities , and establish for themselves a new cultural and social position on the basis of materialistic values and personal benefits . These values and benefits have become the dominant principle inthe way the people of the city deal with each other . Nevertheless, this utilitarian principle faces opposition and resistance from the inherited traditional, cultural, and social values which oppose any threat of change in the moral values of society. It may also be said that the old and the new patterns are not isolated from each other . They act on and react to each other : the new one calls for change and the old one opposes change. Their interaction produces more social and economic changes and continued change in the old concepts . This represents a dynamic case of change and not a passive opposition . The reaction and response of the old city society to these changes is quite positive. No society can live isolated from the impact of modern civilization which progresses daily in wide steps . This enables societies to achieve improvement in their economic, social and health conditions.