Dutiful Daughters

In the Spanish culture, it is almost assumed that the youngest daughter will eventually take care of her parents when they do in fact, get old. Many people also assume, that this is somewhat of a punishment because it does seem like they are giving the rest of their life to their parents. I'm not really sure why this is deemed this way because your parents did in fact care for you for 20+ years, so the least you can do is help them out. I know in my culture it is usually the youngest sons duty to take care and rest assure that his parents feel and do well. No one wants their parents to be stuck inside a funeral home, literally awaiting death. Personally, I feel like it is only right that one of the kids take care of the parents. It doesn't necessarily have to be the youngest male or female, but someone who will take responsibility for his/her parents. Also, that doesn't mean that only one child has to be the caretaker of their parents. All of the kids can do their part and help one another out and split the responsibility between them. Taking care of your parents shouldn't become a hassle or a kind of chore, but it should be viewed as a sign of respect because your parents do trust you. So as far as perception goes, I'm really not sure why people see being a care taker is a burden to anyone. Your parents took care of you for the longest time, least you could do is make them feel at ease. 

Its Not an Oxymoron

Many people seem to have this perception of Islamic culture that its very demanding on the women and it doesn't allow woman to grow and become great people. But as seen in this article, many women in the middle east have strive throughout history. All of the women, Ms. Darraj did mention were very strong and aspiring women. People are sometimes ignorant to certain cultures and/or traditions. As stated in the excerpt, when a middle eastern man does ask the brides father for permission it has a negative connotation to it. I'm not really sure why people think this way because no two cultures or people are the same, so why do people feel the need to question something they aren't accustomed too? People only like to see things done their way which is considered the 'right way' to them, so when a person does something a bit different it seems odd or weird to them. As we do learn by the end of the passage, there is a such thing as an Arab feminist and women and men are supposed to be equal in almost all facets of life.