Authors:Laura Ferrero Abstract: DIFI Family Research and Proceedings, Volume 2015, Issue 1, January 2015. Egyptian communities are increasing throughout Europe, and Italy is the first receiving country (Zohry, 2009). While other Arab countries (i.e., Morocco) are experiencing a progressive “feminization of migration” (Schmoll, 2007), Egyptian migration still remains a male-dominated phenomenon. Citation: DIFI Family Research and Proceedings PubDate: 2015-10-16T10:53:33Z DOI: 10.5339/difi.2015.6 Issue No:Vol. 2015, No. 1 (2015)
Authors:Shafqat Shehzad Abstract: DIFI Family Research and Proceedings, Volume 2015, Issue 1, January 2015. This study addressed the problems and issues facing the Qatari family in the wake of rapid socio-economic development. The study explored housing conditions, health conditions and economic conditions of Qatari women as related to the marital status categories such as never married, married, divorced and widowed across seven administrative regions of Qatar, i.e., at the national level. The data for the study were obtained from the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics, Qatar Census Data, 2010. Macro-level data were analyzed in Excel for prominence in frequency for demographic, socio-economic, housing and health conditions across different types of marital status categories. The results of the study showed that most of the Qatari women belonged to the married or never married categories. However, the divorced and the widowed women, though in the minority, faced health issues in terms of more reported disabilities and lower housing and economic conditions as compared to other categories. Citation: DIFI Family Research and Proceedings PubDate: 2015-10-07T02:09:57Z DOI: 10.5339/difi.2015.9 Issue No:Vol. 2015, No. 1 (2015)
Authors:Susan Roylance, Marcia Barlow Abstract: DIFI Family Research and Proceedings, Volume 2015, Issue 1, January 2015. Marriage is in decline in many Arab countries, and this is particularly evident in the 35–39 year age group of women. This study used qualitative interviews with diplomats to the United Nations from Arab countries to help understand the decline, or delay, in family formation, and the resulting increase of single women in the 35–39 year age group. Quantitative research was also used to provide background on the twenty-two countries in the League of Arab States, and give perspective to societal conditions that could be contributing to the declining percentage of marriages among both men and women. Several factors which seemed significant in reducing or delaying family formation are: higher rates of tertiary (college) education among women, reduced job availability for men, worry about the potential of divorce and the modernization or globalization of society. Family laws and policies were studied, and compared with information gained through the personal interviews, to determine if some policies could be helpful to slow the decline of marriage in Arab countries. Citation: DIFI Family Research and Proceedings PubDate: 2015-10-07T02:09:56Z DOI: 10.5339/difi.2015.8 Issue No:Vol. 2015, No. 1 (2015)
Authors:Kristen Hope, Yann Colliou Abstract: DIFI Family Research and Proceedings, Volume 2015, Issue 1, January 2015. The family unit is acknowledged as a fundamental determinant of the well-being and protection of children by both international instruments and those specific to Arab and Muslim societies. The pivotal part played by the family in achieving the Millennium Development Goals has been documented, particularly for children, with respect to education, poverty reduction, crime prevention and healthy socialization. Following this, national and international child rights agencies must consider how the role of the family should be taken considering children's well-being with respect to the post-2015 development agenda. Citation: DIFI Family Research and Proceedings PubDate: 2015-10-01T01:43:29Z DOI: 10.5339/difi.2015.5 Issue No:Vol. 2015, No. 1 (2015)
Authors:Paola Gandolfi Abstract: DIFI Family Research and Proceedings, Volume 2015, Issue 1, January 2015. Taking into account relevant old references such as the Arab Family and the challenge of change (Barakat, 1993; 1985), trying to discuss the basic characteristics of the Arab family not only as a central socioeconomic unit, but mainly as a microcosm of the demographic transformation of the society, as well as the first and intimate educational space for the creation of the self and the identity (Caputo, 2006), we move into the complex and delicate subject of the evolving contemporary families in the Maghreb. First of all, we try to analyze the difficult reformulation, within the families, of educational models and values. Nowadays, we are faced with new and multiple typologies of families in the Maghreb, shifting from the traditional models of the Arab and Islamic society to families quite far from such models. Within this context, we start from the meaningful work conducted for years by the Arab Families Working Group (AFWG, 2008; 2013), trying to understand the links between gender and family in the Arab world, going back to the patriarchy and up to the deep demographic, social and cultural transformations of the last fifty years in the Arab countries. Within the Maghreb, we choose to focus on Morocco in order to understand that besides the demographic changes and many other transformations such as the quick urbanization, the degree of gender participation and an important change of the values, families are very much changing not only as far as their structures are concerned, but also as far as the relationships among their members. The modernization of a country like Morocco is one of the most visible aspects. The Moroccan main towns are the core of this “modernity” showing at the meantime the most engaging promises and the most paradoxical poverty. Most of the political discourses, as well as the discourses of the media and the civil society, are based on the idea of “progress,” together with ideas of democratization, gender equalities, education, good governance. So, today more than in any other period, we need a realistic vision of the changing society, able to promote initiatives and to assume risks, including the positive aspects of both the “modernity” and the original identity of the country. Within this framework, the King of Morocco Mohammed VI has called for many values of the so-called “modernity” among which is the notion of “responsible citizenship.” With such premises, a focus on Morocco is very relevant because the country, during the last years, is not only at the core of a very meaningful and original social and cultural change process, but it is also at the core of an important reform process, concerning also the specific field of the Code of the Family (Mudawwana al-Usra al-Maghribiyya). In addition to that, some qualitative researches have been achieved by some of the Moroccan sociologists and anthropologists (and others), in the period of the last ten-five years, attesting to this changing dynamic that needs to be observed. Citation: DIFI Family Research and Proceedings PubDate: 2015-10-01T01:43:28Z DOI: 10.5339/difi.2015.7 Issue No:Vol. 2015, No. 1 (2015)
Authors:Jocelyn Sage Mitchell , Christina Paschyn, Sadia Mir, Kirsten Pike, Tanya Kane Abstract: DIFI Family Research and Proceedings, Volume 2015, Issue 1, January 2015. Abstract Since oil exportation began in 1949, the Gulf state of Qatar has used its hydrocarbon revenues to rapidly modernize in all areas, from infrastructure to health care. Recognizing that the domestic economy cannot rely indefinitely on non-renewable fossil fuels, the Qatari government has focused on human development of all its citizens-male and female-through increased opportunities in the educational and employment fields. Citation: DIFI Family Research and Proceedings PubDate: 2015-08-19T01:41:01Z DOI: 10.5339/difi.2015.4 Issue No:Vol. 2015, No. 1 (2015)
Authors:Carla Makhlouf Obermeyer Abstract: DIFI Family Research and Proceedings, Volume 2015, Issue 1, January 2015. Abstract In recent years, international organizations and researchers have paid increased attention to the health of adolescents, recognizing that the current generation of young people is the world's largest ever. Although youth is commonly regarded as a healthy period in life, more than 1.4 million adolescents (aged 10-19) are estimated to die each year (97% of these deaths occur in low and middle-income countries), and an even greater number suffer from illnesses (Patton et al. 2012; UNICEF 2012). Adolescence coincides with major changes that affect the determinants of adult health, and many adult health conditions are related to factors that develop during adolescence (Sawyer et al. 2012). The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that nearly two-thirds of premature deaths, and one-third of the burden of disease in adulthood, are associated with conditions or behaviors that began in youth (WHO n.d.). PubDate: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 11:50:33 GMT DOI: 10.5339/difi.2015.1
Authors:Hoda Rashad Abstract: DIFI Family Research and Proceedings, Volume 2015, Issue 1, January 2015. Abstract The Arab region has, and is continuing, to experience significant changes in marriage and family formation patterns. A number of earlier studies (Osman and Shahd, 2001; Rashad and Osman, 2001; Rashad, Osman and Roudi-Fahimi, 2005; Hopkins, 2001) have shown that, despite the diversity of Arab countries in terms of their positions within the stages of nuptiality transition, they have all experienced important changes in the tempo and intensity of marriage, as well as in the characteristics of marriage and marriage partners. PubDate: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 11:50:33 GMT DOI: 10.5339/difi.2015.2
Authors:Youssef Courbage Abstract: DIFI Family Research and Proceedings, Volume 2015, Issue 1, January 2015. Abstract For Arab countries or for the whole of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the demographic and family transitions, in their broadest sense a universal phenomenon, have recently encompassed, at varying degrees of intensity, the whole region. This is a well-established phenomenon documented by individual researchers and a body of International Organizations. The descriptive phenomenon of this transition almost raises no doubts. PubDate: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 11:50:33 GMT DOI: 10.5339/difi.2015.3