This study extends existing world society research on ideational diffusion by going beyond examinations of national policy change to investigate the spread of ideas among nonelite individuals. Spec...

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0003122413480363

Increasing rejection of intimate partner violence: Evidence of global cultural diffusion

The scholarship on gender in the Middle East takes two objectives as its mandate: first, to dismantle the stereotype of passive and powerless Muslim women and, second, to challenge the notion that Islam shapes women's condition in the same way in all places. The urgency of this endeavor is heightened by the fact that gender has come to demarcate battle lines in geopolitical struggles since September 11, 2001, and to occupy a central place in the discourse of international relations in regard to Muslim countries. To reflect the major developments in the field, I offer a critical analysis of the scholarship on issues that constitute the core of the intellectual discourse on gender in the Middle East. These include the critique of Orientalism past and present; the exploration of the diversity within Islam; the study of states and gender with respect to symbolic representations, institutions, and kin-based solidarities; the analysis of women's agency; and the debates surrounding feminism and the veil.

Gender in the Middle East: Islam, State, Agency

This paper extends theory and research concerning cultural models of development beyond family and demographic matters to a broad range of additional factors, including government, education, human rights, daily social conventions, and religion. Developmental idealism is a cultural model-a set of beliefs and values-that identifies the appropriate goals of development and the ends for achieving these goals. It includes beliefs about positive cause and effect relationships among such factors as economic growth, educational achievement, health, and political governance, as well as strong values regarding many attributes, including economic growth, education, small families, gender equality, and democratic governance. This cultural model has spread from its origins among the elites of northwest Europe to elites and ordinary people throughout the world. Developmental idealism has become so entrenched in local, national, and global social institutions that it has now achieved a taken-for-granted status among many national elites, academics, development practitioners, and ordinary people around the world. We argue that developmental idealism culture has been a fundamental force behind many cultural clashes within and between societies, and continues to be an important cause of much global social change. We suggest that developmental idealism should be included as a causal factor in theories of human behavior and social change.

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Developmental Idealism: The Cultural Foundations of World Development Programs.

This first part of this chapter analyses the trends in the fertility decline in the regions with high fertility. The second part presents the theoretical Framework explaining the fertility path. The thiord and fourth parts adopt a forward-looking perspective that provides insights into the future fertility trends.

Future Fertility in High Fertility Countries

CONTEXT: Although premarital heterosexual relationships especially those involving sexual contact are discouraged in Iran particularly for females a considerable minority of young people are involved in such relationships. However the determinants of such relationships have not been identified especially those pertaining to family. METHODS: In 2005-2006 a random sample of 1378 unmarried female college students from four universities in Tehran completed anonymous self-administered surveys that asked whether the respondent had ever had a premarital heterosexual relationship. Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between such relationships and family factors including socioeconomic measures parent-child communication and closeness family values and atmosphere and parental control. RESULTS: Having had a boyfriend was positively associated with paternal income (odds ratio 1.3) maternal educational attainment (1.3) and more liberal family values (1.3) and negatively associated with parent-child closeness (0.6). Very strict and very relaxed parental control during adolescence were both associated with having had a boyfriend but only the former was associated with having had premarital sex. In addition respondents were more likely to have had premarital intercourse if they did not live with both parents (2.0) or if their family had more liberal values (1.3); they had reduced odds of having had sex if they had a closer relationship with their parents (0.7). CONCLUSION: Good family relationships may reduce the likelihood that youth will engage in premarital sex possibly by fostering parent-child closeness. Moderate parental control may discourage premarital relationships more effectively than lesser or greater degrees of control.

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Associations between family factors and premarital heterosexual relationships among female college students in Tehran.

Part 1: Introduction Family Life and Ideational Change in Egypt, Iran, and Tunisia Kathryn M. Yount, and Rashad Hoda Part 2: Transnationalism, Nationalism, and New Family Ideals 1. Familism and Critical Arab Family Studies Joseph, Suad 2. International Feminism and the Women's Movement in Egypt, 1904-1923: A Reappraisal of Categories and Legacies Mary Ann. Fay 3. From Birth Control to Family Planning: Population, Gender, and the Politics of Reproduction in Egypt Laura. Bier 4. Family Law and Family Planning Policy in Pre- and Post-revolutionary Iran Homa Hoodfar 5. Family Law and Ideological Debates in Post-colonial Tunisia Mounira Maya Charrad Part 3: Continuity and Change in Daily Family Life 6. Rationales for Kin Marriages in Rural Upper Egypt" Hania Sholkamy, 7. Social Change and Parent-Adolescent Dynamics in Egypt Sahar El Tawila Barbara Ibrahim, and Hind Wassef. 8. Reprint: Family Power and Gender Preference in Minya, Egypt Kathryn M. Yount 9. Divorce and the Fate of the Family in Modern Century Egypt Kenneth Cuno 10. The Family and Social Change in Post-revolutionary Iran Abbasi-Shavazi, Mohammad Jalal, Peter McDonald, Meimanat Hossein-Chavoshi 11. From Sexual Submission to Voluntary Commitment: The Transformation of Family Ties in Contemporary Tunisia Lilia Labidi Part 4: Concluding Remarks - Family Life and Ideational Change in Egypt, Iran, and Tunisia --- Reconsidered Hoda Rashad and Kathryn M. Yount

The family and social change in post-revolutionary Iran

Family change in Iran: Religion, revolution and the state

The long-term settlement of Afghan immigrants in Iran, along with their high fertility, has produced an important shift in the composition of their population with the emergence of a “second generation”. This article aims to examine how second-generation Afghans have adapted to the host society and to what extent their adaptation patterns have correlated with demographic and contextual factors. The data is drawn from the 2010 Afghans Adaptation Survey which covered 520 second-generation Afghans.

Results revealed that second-generation Afghans have a variety of adaptation patterns. Integration is the most prevalent pattern of adaptation and acculturation (which is observed among 35.8 per cent of respondents) followed by separation (33.3%), assimilation (17.1%) and marginalization (13.8%). Our multivariate analysis showed that such socio-demographic factors as gender, education, ethnicity, perceived discrimination, family context, neighbourhood characteristics, length and city of residence are associated with their adaptation patterns.

Policy Implications
Successful implementation of policies and durable solutions for Afghans in Iran rests on the diversity of the adaptation patterns of their second-generation.
Restriction on employment opportunities has led to downward assimilation and marginalization of some of the Afghans in Iran. Improvement in labour laws would promote the integration of Afghans in the society.
Afghan females have relatively better access to a gender-equitable environment in Iran than they do in Afghanistan, and are less willing to return to their homeland. The Government of Afghanistan should improve service and security provisions for women to ensure their voluntary repatriation.

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Socio-cultural Adaptation of Second-generation Afghans in Iran

Education is the main driving force of development, autonomy and demographic change. It provides women access to modern ways of thinking, confidence to engage with the modern world, reduces infant mortality, raises age at marriage and stimulates higher levels of gender equity within couple relationships. Schooling is also positively related with more favorable attitudes towards birth control, greater knowledge of contraception, and husband-wife communication. It also promotes female labour force participation in the cash economy hence raising the opportunity cost of having children. This chapter, first, discusses the value that Islam places on women’s education, and presents the trend of female education in Muslim-majority countries. Second, country level differences as well as gender gap in education and the reasons for this diversity are reviewed. Third, fertility change in Islamic countries and the pathways by which female education has had impact on fertility is examined.

Women’s Education and Fertility in Islamic Countries

International migration is increasingly important in shaping national population dynamics, both directly through adding or subtracting people, and indirectly, through the fertility of immigrants. International migrants rarely share the fertility characteristics of either origin or destination populations. However, the relationship between migration and fertility is little understood, especially that relating to refugee populations. This study examined the fertility differentials of one of the world’s largest refugee populations, the Afghans in Iran, in relation to the host population. Based on multivariate analysis, the study demonstrated that Afghan immigrants were moving from a high fertility regime to a low fertility regime. The findings suggest that fertility change among Afghans is associated with their adaptation to Iranian society. The role of education in mediating immigrant–native fertility differentials was also uncovered.

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Mohammad Abbasi Shavazi

Papers

The family and social change in post-revolutionary Iran

Family change in Iran: Religion, revolution and the state

Socio-cultural Adaptation of Second-generation Afghans in Iran

Women’s Education and Fertility in Islamic Countries

Immigrant-native fertility differentials: The Afghans in Iran