Tamara Almeghari
June 2021
Write a commentary about UAE social values, and specify where
you predict that the UAE would be on the two scales. Minimum 100-
words, as usual.
In the first place, The UAE society is rich with values that point up the
importance of religion, family and tradition. It has a rich culture and heritage
that reflects traditional Arab and Islamic values. In other words, daily life in the
UAE is strongly affected by Islamic values, even for foreigners; from greetings
and hospitality to eating etiquette and more. Furthermore, family forms an
essential role in the Emirati community. Additionally, certain things are rejected
by the Emirati community. By way of example, abortion or the termination of
pregnancy is banned in the UAE unless the pregnancy is putting the mother’s
life at risk. Mercy killing (euthanasia) is also banned and rejected in the Emirati
society for whatever reason and even with a dying patient’s consent. Not only
abortion and euthanasia but also suicide is denied in the UAE community.
In the second place, as a consequence of being the UAE one of the richest
countries in the world, the Emirati people take survival for granted and they are
more concerned about self-expression values. To put it more simply, the UAE
focuses on achieving tolerance between all people, promoting equality between
men and women in all life sectors, and protecting the environment. Nonetheless,
the UAE has laws that criminalize same-sex sexual relations. In other words,
being gay or lesbian is not acceptable in Emirati society since Islam prohibited
that.
To sum up, the UAE gives high precedence to environmental protection,
growing tolerance of foreigners, and giving both men and women equal rights and
opportunities in different fields. However, it rejects gays and lesbians in society.
Accordingly, I predict that the UAE would be at 0 on the x-axis. Furthermore,
the UAE has strong values that highlight the significance of religion, tradition
and family in our daily life. Also, suicide, abortion, and euthanasia are denied
in our society since they are against the Islamic religion. Consequently, the
UAE will be probably at -1.5 on the y-axis. This is due to the fact that Emirati
society has very high levels of national pride.
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