Friday, November 30, 2007

Mixing Between Afghan Men And Women

Like most cultures, the gesture of handshaking is the most common form of greeting for Afghans. However, women and men do not shake their hands. They only speak directly to one another. Another form of respect is the putting of their hands over their hearts and nodding slightly to the person they're talking. Afghans usually have lengthy conversations. In a meeting, people involved ask each other about family, health, education or business.

Between Genders. Mixing between genders is a sensitive thing for Afghans. Free mixing between genders is only happening within families. In the workplace, men and women could be colleagues but are still particular in maintaining each other's honor and pride. Men cannot directly talk to women in the streets as this will mean dishonor to women. Women should not look straight to men's eyes. Women should keep their eyes lowered when walking in the streets to maintain their dignity. Women should also dress appropriately to avoid uninvited attention. They should make sure that pants worn are loose fitting so that women's thighs shouldn't be visible.

4 comments:

  1. i see that the afghan culture is still very traditional. the society is still based on machismo ideology.

    Judith Gilmore

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  2. i think every culture has embraced the machismo ideology one way or another.

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  3. I watched Kandahar and i think it was set in Afghanistan.
    they are very strict.

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  4. we just feel that its strict in afghanistan because we are not used to in their culture. but to them, its just very ordinary and normal. its never a threat to them.

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