Change in Family Arrangements in Tanzania and UK - Assignment Example

Continuity and change in family arrangements in Tanzania and UK Introduction UK and Tanzania are two entirely different countries politically, economically, culturally and socially. UK is one of the richest countries in the world situated in Europe whereas Tanzania is one among the poorest countries in the world situated in the African continent. Most of the inhabitants in UK are the whites whereas that in Tanzania is the blacks. Moreover, majority of the UK population are well educated whereas same thing cannot be said about Tanzania. Muslims are the major constituents of Tanzanian population whereas Christians are the majority in UK. “Christianity is a relatively new religion in Tanzania having introduced into the country during the 18th Century by professional missionaries. About two-thirds of East Africa’s Muslims reside in Tanzania which is the most populous of the East African countries” (Saeed, n. d) Because of these huge differences between these countries, the family arrangements, life principles, attitudes customs etc in these two countries are entirely different. This paper briefly analyses the Continuity and change in family arrangements in Tanzania and UK in three disciplines; economics, psychology and politics Comparison of UK and Tanzania life with respect to economy “The agro sector contributes more than two-thirds of the GDP. It accounts for almost 85% of the total exports and employs nearly 80% of the population. However, agriculture is restricted to the coastal plains, since nearly 90% of the land is not arable” (Economy watch Tanzania, n. d). At the same time one of the pathetic aspect of Tanzanian agriculture is the fact that only 4% of the total land area is used for agricultural purpose because of the geographical peculiarities and bitter climatic conditions. Even though, most of the agricultural products like coffee, tea, cashews, cotton etc are exporting from Tanzania, the farmers are getting very less price for their products because of the mediators in between production and exporting. Industrial sector is contributing very little to the Tanzanian economy. In fact industry in Tanzania is one among the smallest in Africa. Tanzanian government has recently taken some significant measures to liberalize the Tanzanian economy in order to capitalize on the opportunities provided by globalization, liberalization and privatization. Tayari (2010) has pointed out that small scale industries should be encouraged in Tanzania for the proper economic developments as did by many other countries (Tayari, 2010). UK on the other hand is one of the heavily industrialized countries in the world. Industrial revenue is the major source of income for UK. “The UK economy is the 5th largest in the world and 2nd largest in Europe with GDP of US$2.279 trillion (6th largest by PPP GDP)” (Economy Watch UK. UK economy was the largest during the period of British Empire. At present UK economy is facing severe challenges because of the 2008 recession and its aftereffects. Even then the living standards of UK public are still very much higher than that of the Tanzanians. Most of the UK population has basic education and the unemployment rate in UK is less compared to the Tanzanians because of the highly developed industrial growth. The per capita income of the UK public is much higher than that of the Tanzanians. Comparison of UK and Tanzania life with respect to psychology Hassan (2009) has mentioned that in Tanzania, psychology as a discipline does not stand on its own. At our universities, for example, there are no departments of psychology. Psychological services are not regulated in Tanzania as in the UK. There is no licensing of psychologists” (Hassan, 2009). Psychology was an unknown subject in Tanzania till the recent past. Even in the Tanzanian hospitals, there were no specialized departments for the Psychology. But, at present the situation is changing rapidly. The importance of psychology in social life is better understood by the Tanzanians. According to Dr. Lydia Stone, a Skillshare International development worker and a Clinical Psychologist from London, who started her practice in Mirembe Hospital in Dodoma - the only specialist psychiatric referral hospital in Tanzania, Tanzanians have sophisticated understanding of mental health and an awareness of the need for holistic interventions (Training Success: ‘each one, teach one, 2009, p.1). On the other hand, traditionally, UK people are so strong psychologically. In fact their psychological strength helped them to make different colonies at different parts of the world. In fact, a substantial portion of the world was under British rule at one time. Even America and India like countries were British colonies earlier. Many of the streams of psychology were developed by the British people. Because of the superior strength in psychological power, British people leads a much healthy life compared to the Tanzanian people. British will never get agitated to simple things whereas the Tanzanians are more vulnerable to job related and family related stresses. The superior psychological power helped British people to attain top spots in big international organizations. On the other hand, Tanzanians are very less in such positions. Comparison of UK and Tanzania life with respect to politics Even though the monarch still holds the supreme power in UK, those power remains on paper only. Even though Britain is a democratic country, unlike many other democratic nations, UK has no core constitutional document. It is often said that the British democracy functions upon the unwritten and un-codified constitution. British parliament is the law making body and a well defined judiciary is also functioning in Britain. Multiparty system is prevailing in Britain. Tories (conservatives) and labor parties are the prominent political parties in Britain. The President of Tanzania is both head of state and head of government, in a multiparty political system In Tanzania. Executive power is rested on the government whereas the legislative power is vested on both the government and parliament. At the same time Judiciary in Tanzania is independent of the executive and the legislature, like most of the other democratic countries in the world. Tanzania got full freedom from colonial rule only in 1961 when a socialist leader, Julius Nyerere , led Tanzania towards absolute freedom from colonial rule. Even though democracy was on cards in Tanzania, it was a single party state till the mid 80’s. But in the latter part of the eighties, Tanzania undertook many political and economical reforms which resulted in the establishment of multiparty system in Tanzania in the early nineties. When we compare the political system in UK and Tanzania, we can safely say that British people enjoy supremacy in this regard also. Human right violations are less in Britain compared to Tanzania. British people are well aware of their political and social rights because of their superior educational levels. On the other hand, illiteracy seems to be a big curse for Tanzania which prevents the Tanzanians from even knowing their basic rights. Because of the better functioning of democracy in Britain, British people are getting more out of their government whereas the Tanzanians are getting less from their governments. Corruption seems to be very high in Tanzania compared to Britain. Conclusions Social and family life of the British people is far better than that of the Tanzanians. Britain has superior economical, psychological and political powers compared to the Tanzanians which helped them to give better living standards to their population. At the same time Tanzania got full freedom only around fifty years before and they have fewer resources compared to Britain and in my opinion, there is no point in comparing the British living standards with Tanzanian living standards. References 1. Economy watch Tanzania (n. d). Tanzania Economy. Retrieved from http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/tanzania/ 2. Economy watch UK. (n. d). UK Economy, UK Economic Profile, British Economy, United Kingdom Economy, Economy of UK. Retrieved from http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/united-kingdom/ 3. Hassan, A. (2009). Psychologist from Tanzania meets with APA staff. American Psychological Association. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/international/pi/2009/03/tanzania.aspx 4. Saeed, M. (n. d). Islam and politics in Tanzania. Retrieved from http://www.igs.net/~kassim/nyaraka/islam_and_politics_in_tz.html 5. Training Success: ‘each one, teach one. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.skillshare.org/pdf/NEWS_39.pdf 6. Tayari, E.D. (2010). Transforming Tanzanian economy by imparting entrepreneurial spirit to its people. Retrieved from http://vijana.fm/2010/09/24/transforming-tanzanian-economy-by-imparting-entrepreneurial-spirit-to-its-people/ Read More