Egyptian Family and Social Status

I decided to research Egyptian families and their social statues. I came across a website that I believe summarized the community very well and shared a lot of comparisons with Aunt Safiyya and the Monastery.

The term family in the country of Egypt is seen to be very ambiguous even more so then any other Middle Eastern country. In Egypt the families almost always remain close especially in lower class families. Many times their children will marry cousins and they always keep the same housing within the family and pass it down to relatives. They always remain in the same part of town as well and do not like moving from city to city. The section of the city that they live in defines what class they are in. All of the higher class families live in one area and the lower class live in another. The division of class in society is distinctive. The women almost always move in with the male’s family although they still remain close with their own family. Family is how a citizen is identified in society. The members of the family rely on each other a lot because they do not have any other outside people that they are as close with. They see their family as their social network and personal support.

I appreciate learning about the relationships between family members in other countries because they are very different than ours here in America. Although most of us would love to say that we have close relatives and family members, an American family cannot even compare to an Egyptian family. It is said that many Egyptians are incredibly willing to take outsiders into their family. Even people such as their servants and housekeepers sometimes move in the house and are seen almost as another family member. This is not something that we see taking place in America very much.