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Social Changes in Iraq

Table of Contents

Introduction
Culture
Forces of Change
Effects of Change
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

The term social change is used to refer to a shift in the human aspect of biological development which encompasses; social behavior, community relations, nature, social structure, and social institutions to mention a few. A social change starts with a slight change of thought, then behavior, this will then culminate into deviation from the inherited cultural values and finally a rebellion between the conservatives and reformers of an already established social order. The consequences of a shift from a current social structure may either be beneficial or detrimental to society. This essay will look into the possible social changes in the Iraqi culture and what might have triggered such changes. It will also go further to outline some of the noted effects of the shift and determine whether they were innovative or diffusion.

The culture of the Iraqi people has undergone a series of metamorphic processes over the years; it can be unanimously agreed that most of the resultant effects of these changes have been of little benefit to the Iraqi Community, particularly women and children.

Culture

At the beginning (the 1970s), Iraq was one of the countries with a stable economic status in the entire Middle East, but that was before their human structure and natural resources were shaken to their bare foundation by the war with Iran and the United States. The two wars left the country in a state of socio-economic turmoil, insecurity and not to mention corruption under the then-president dictator Saddam Hussein.

The culture of Iraq is one of the oldest in the world. Iraq is the root of the worlds civilization which later spread into other Asian countries and the West: It has the richest heritage ever recorded in any single country in the world. Iraq is the source of some of the world-class sculptures, poets, and painters; their fine architectural works are evident in the design and construction of the old Mesopotamian buildings showing that their excellent mastery of art dates back to ancient times. The country has never stopped celebrating its great achievements of the pre-Islamic times. Before the modernization of the Iraqi culture, the country was strictly Muslim based, different from the current times where it playing home to a variety of religious groups like Christians, Jews, Assyrians, and many others. It has been a common practice in Iraq to spot a quintessence grouped together to take tea in what they called siesta. The Rites of passage of a child depends on how much the child can read and interpret the Quran.

The Iraqi culture respects old age so much, and it is considered a big disgrace to insult any older person, especially in public&the Arab culture from which the Iraqi derived theirs believe that wrinkles bring wisdom, and more of them one has, the more respect he/she is supposed to get. Divorce cases were very few and the institution of marriage was accorded a lot of respect. And just like in any Muslim-dominated country, the women have been discriminated against and are viewed more so like children than adults. The Iraqi political stability seemed to be reverting back in an attempt to recapture its former status before the United States in collaboration with the British forces succeeded in bringing down Saddams regime and restored the sovereignty of Iraq once more (Ismael, 2007 p.337).

Other practices found in the Iraqi culture are so contrary to what people are used to in the West; these practices have persisted for years on end, and they seem not to be ready to fade in the near future. Some of them include:-Their religious practice which is based on the Islamic culture which honors the five pillars of doctrine practice (charity and alms, prayers, faith, pilgrimage to Mecca, and Fasting), their women are ever in a headscarf and wherever they go, they must be escorted by their male relatives or family friend, Their women should never be touched, or stared at, women great with their fingertips not using the palm of their hands and finally, before initiating any business with an Iraqi man, shake hands first. The hand-shake should neither be too tight nor too meek.

Forces of Change

The infiltration of the pure Iraqi culture by other cultures in the wake of Industrialization marked the rebellion between the die-hard social conservatives and the reformers. The ancient social practices were dealt the last blow by the two aforementioned wars which disinterested the social system a great deal. Apart from the reported disruption of the economic growth, the religious practices also took a completely new direction from the initially Muslim culture&some people converted to Christianity, Buddhism and some even resorted to Paganism, civil society groups also emerged to push for equal rights for women, workers, and other disadvantaged groups. With an economy, which was unable to sustain its population, more cases of malnutrition, infectious diseases, rise ion infant mortality and psychological problems arose. The sanctions that were imposed on the country further aggravated the situation (Ishmael, 2009, p.337-339).

But all said and done, the chief root cause of all these problems began with Dictator Saddam Hussein who through his I dont care attitude did some things that did not in any way reflect the wishes of the Iraqi people. His leadership system of iron-handedness has been greatly criticized by most world leaders; it did very little to promoted democracy to Iraqis. The citizens as well as the international community had to step in and return things to their initial status&this, therefore, became the major cause of the social change.

Effects of Change

The reaction to the change of leadership was very drastic and gave people no time to adjust, the society, therefore, needed to employ some survival tactics which proved to be more diffusive than innovative. Most of the actions that the society engaged ingot to be beneficial only after the political arena had stabilized after the ousting Saddam. A country that had one of the most promising economies was taken down to a point where it was just struggling to survive& what an irony. The Future generation of the state is said to be facing health dangers now and if some drastic corrective measures are not taken, the problem is bound to persist for the next hundreds of years to come, thanks to the Cancer and Leukemia cases which have more than tippled due to the toxic DU gas emitted during the war. (Al-Ali, p.342).

Saddam Hussein refused to be convinced to drop his quest to manufacture Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), leaving the UN with no option but to disarm them and impose sanctions. This was to serve as a stern warning, not to the Iraqi government, but also to those other nations who were brooding with a similar idea. Painful it was, but the step had to be taken. The results of the sanctions were so devastating, especially to the women and children of Iraq who grew up knowing nothing apart from, gunfire, bombs, no schools, soldiers all over, and checkpoints all over their neighborhood. The eventual effect of this was Post Traumatic Stress Depression with literally no single Psychiatrist in Iraq. (Ishmael, 2009, p.344).

The post-war period saw active involvement of women that was only witnessed before Saddams regime and the Sanction period. The women were reported to be one of the most highly educated before the changes were effected. But upon the social shift, the education for women collapsed, families broke, and economically, they became stressed. There was therefore a need to counter these negative effects by diverting into more conservative steps to tackle the emerging challenging social transition. With literally no socioeconomic rights during Saddam, and then the economic sanctions, women were the hardest by the changes. The inclusion of women to participate more actively in the political arena in the post-sanctions era has helped the country achieve most of its development strategies where the challenges, struggles, ideas, resources, and problems are all shared equitably between sexes and everyone is showing a spirit of collective responsibility. This concept has helped in the reconstruction and nation-building of the country that was almost brought to ruins& A heavy presence of women in the political, military and economic struggles has been greatly applauded&Not forgetting the ideological reproduction, family guidance, social continuity, the list is endless. (Nadje, p.742).

Conclusion

As a conclusive remark, going by what this research paper has highlighted, it can be said the social change that the Iraqi people have gone through has been one drastic and rocky one; at one point showing all signs of stability and in the next moment threatened with extinction&to a once strongest economy in the Asian continent to a near collapse. All the human development was brought to a standstill with the negative changes effected by poor governance, but with the current state (economical and political), we are sure of seeing a stable social structure in the country.

Works Cited

Al-Ali Nadje. (2005). Reconstructing Gender: Iraqi Women between Dictatorship, War, Sanctions and Occupation. Third World Quarterly. 26(4/5). Military and Government Collection, EBSCOhost. P.739-758.

Iraqis and the Occupation: Women and Social Change in Iraq. Web.

Ishmael T. Shereen. (2009). Dismantling the Iraqi Social Fabric: From Dictatorship through Sanctions to Occupation. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 35(2). Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost. P.333-349.

Ibid&(2007). The Cost of War: The Children of Iraq. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 38(2). Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost. P.337-357.

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