Culture of Pakistan and America
The word “culture” has different meanings to people who come from different cultures. Generally, culture refers to an individual’s traditions, values, lifestyles, customs, and heritage. Culture basically enlightens us about a person’s way of life. Most people follow the culture of their ancestors, as it is difficult to grow up with certain norms and values and then decide that you no longer want to be a part of that culture. Culture plays a vital role in an individual’s personality as during the primary socialization process, an individual grows up in the cultural environment provided by his family and people tend to internalize things quickly when they are young. For example, children watch cartoons and capture as much as they can of those cartoon characters as youngsters are eager to learn and curious to know about their surroundings.
However, not everyone likes to stick to their cultural values given their situation. For example, an individual may come from a harsh culture that does not take into account the aspect of respect. These types of norms in a culture can be the cause of why people move away from their cultures. The idea that many people are derived from their home cultures is not far-fetched. In this essay, we will discuss two cultures; American culture and Pakistani culture (Shamama-tus-Sabah and Gilani). Both cultures seem to be polar opposites. Pakistani culture is often referred to as Eastern culture while American culture is known as Western culture in many parts of the world.
In Pakistani culture, families traditionally tend to stay together. The family structure that is most common in Pakistan is the extended family structure, as most of the households consist of two or more than two generations. This means that grandparents, cousins, uncles, and aunts typically live under the same roof. There are many reasons why the extended family structure is widespread in Pakistani culture. Many families tend to stay together due to financial problems. As there is a lack of employment opportunities for working class families in Pakistan, there is usually one person who earns and supports the family. There tends to be enormous pressure on that person to win, as there are so many people who depend on their earnings. Therefore, relatives in Pakistani culture are strongly integrated and stay close most of the time.
Usually, the parents have the strongest position in the family, as they are the people who earn and run the family. Therefore, they are more likely to make major decisions or all of the family’s decisions, for that matter. Also, since Pakistan is known for its patriarchal culture, it is not unheard of that male members generally have a dominant status in the family. In the modern world, education has stepped forward and people are encouraging women’s education in Pakistan. In the past, women were mostly discouraged from getting an education as the patriarchal society believed that if women were given education rights, they would bring down the patriarchy and break all traditional norms and values (Fazal). However, women are still attached to their country and not many of them are allowed to go abroad or stay away from their families for higher education. There are some exceptional, liberal families that do not set limits on their children and let them do what they are passionate about.
Another stereotype of Pakistani culture is that any profession other than doctor or engineer is frowned upon. Artists, musicians, actors, poets, authors and other similar professions are not encouraged at all, not even by their families. If a person tells his family that he wants to become an artist, for example, his family’s response is likely to be, “You are a disgrace to the family.” Pakistani culture is not as liberal as American culture, but it has come a long way from its traditional form and has a long way to go until every individual feels liberated and has a sense of their free will.
Pakistan is an Islamic state therefore; Religion plays an important role in Pakistani culture. Religious occasions like Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Adha, 9th and 10th of Muharram are announced as public holidays in Pakistan. Other holidays include Independence Day, Defense Day, the birthday of the founder of Pakistan (Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah) and many more. Eid ul Fitr is one of the most celebrated holidays in Pakistan as it is the celebration of Ramadan that comes to an end. Eid is a joyous holiday as the whole country celebrates it exuberantly and with much enthusiasm. People go the extra mile to help the poor and dole out as much Zakat as they can in the way of Allah. Eid and Ramadan are really two occasions that unite the entire country.
Families in American culture tend to be mostly separated. Even if a family lives under the same roof, they do not share a bond that holds a family together. The high rate of divorces and remarriages is proof that families in American culture tend to break up or fall apart for many reasons. One of the reasons that families do not stay together in American culture is that children are given freedom at a very young age (Spindler and Spindler). For example, children over the age of 13 have the right to call child services if they feel their family is being oppressive. Teenagers often have no idea what is right and wrong for them. However, they still tend to claim that they know everything. This limits their parents, therefore parents cannot keep their children for long. On the other hand, if not the children, one of the parents leaves the other because of an affair, psychological problems, etc. Single-parent families usually end up leaving the father alone in foster care or on his own.
Extended families are unconventional in American culture, as grandparents typically retire to foster homes and families visit on holidays such as Christmas or Thanksgiving. Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Halloween are holidays celebrated with enthusiasm and enthusiasm in American culture. Halloween is a holiday where people dress up, go out and mingle with their loved ones. Trick or treating is one of the things that most excites children, since it is a tradition to knock on the doors of the neighborhood and ask for as many sweets as desired. Holidays like these bring families together. People living in the United States follow many different religions (Brauer). For example, Muslims, Jews and Christians and many other people of different religious backgrounds live in the same country and freely follow its religious values. Since many people of different religious backgrounds live in the United States, they are free to do whatever they want.
The public display of affection is something that is absolutely not tolerated in Pakistani culture due to the religious background. However, in American culture, physical contact between two people, whether they are in a martial relationship or not, is not frowned upon. Parents of some youngsters may not encourage it, but it’s not entirely unheard of. Compared to Pakistani culture, youth have more freedom in American culture. Teens have multiple opportunities to explore themselves and reach their full potential, no matter what steps they take to get there. Parents are more supportive of their children in American culture and provide them with all the care they may need.
Bullying is one of the major problems in American culture. Many students in schools believe that they can get away with bullying other students. Bullying targets are often fat, brown, or students of another race. Bullying has been one of the main reasons why students change schools, develop mental illnesses like depression, hang-ups, anxiety, etc. Racism is also seen in American culture and is by no means unknown. The worst part of living in the US has to be the stereotypes bullies create against minorities. However, the best thing about living in the United States is that there is always an opportunity to stop bullying and racism and get out of what bothers you or prevents you from moving forward, since it is a free country, full of new doors that lead to greater things
It is crystal clear that Pakistani and American culture differ in many ways. While families in Pakistani culture are very close, families in American culture grow apart as they get older. However, Pakistani culture is not as liberal as American culture. Pakistani culture places limits on youth to a certain extent, while American culture gives its youth the greatest possible opportunity to push their limits and achieve what no one else could. However, both cultures have their distinct attributes; both cultures provide the people who live there with a sense of belonging and identity.
Works Cited
Brauer, Jerald C. “Regionalism and Religion in America.” Church History (1985): 366-378.
Fazal, Tanveer. “Religion and language in nation formation in Pakistan and Bangladesh”. Sociological Bulletin (1999): 175-199.
Shamama-tus-Sabah, Syeda and Nighat. Gilani. “Domestic chaos and its association with maternal upbringing, family system, and children’s academic performance in Pakistani culture”. Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research (2010): 19-30.
Spindler, George D., and Louise Spindler. “Anthropologists View American Culture”. Anthropology Annual Review (1983): 49-78.