Letting go of traditions?

This caught my attention as earlier last week when Fares and his parents came over this topic came up and I learnt something new and that is Rural Damascus, "Reef Damas" is now officially a province. This is due to the population growth in Damascus as many rural people from Reef Damas are migrating into the Damascus for a number of conspicuous reasons; education, economic opportunities and better social services.

Damascus as many know is very crowded which is one of the reasons why I don't particularly fancy it, of course, naturally, it is the capital and that is expected. However, the issue addressed in the article about population growth in Syria as a whole and how that is linked to traditions regarding marriage in a relatively young age, and conceiving a lot of children is very important and I'm glad it is being talked about. It seems like there isn’t much forward thinking on how that affects infrastructure and puts a high demand on resources-I watched a documentary a while ago on the dangers of water resources in Syria running scarce due to the high population level. In addition regarding birth control, I cannot believe that its usage is based on the husband’s approval, isn’t birth control a joined decision anyways! I hope he is right regarding the Syrian woman’s awareness of her status and capabilities in society, from what I have seen that is improving.

However you notice here again how he mentioned that the root of this problem is that they address lowering fertility rate as a "Western Idea". It is just disappointing how if one is to regard everything that would provide a much adaptable and resourceful environment to live in, as a Western idea, then we won't move forward. Just like how centuries ago the West benefited from science coming from Arab and Islamic civilizations and developed on them to adapt, then I don't see a problem with it working the other way round so long as our identities are not gone with.

As much as I believe in holding on to some traditions as part of an identity, it is important to realize that culture and its traditions are not static and some things need to be changed or altered as life moves on. When traditions were first adopted, long time ago, it was because they seemed logical then, in that present time and situation, making life adaptable; we live in a new age which requires new forms of adaptation, in some areas, allowing us to progress.