Profound cultural changes are transforming the Moslem world of Central Asia, partly as a response to dramatic events in the Middle East and partly to the great economic development in the region. These changes in the ...Profound cultural changes are transforming the Moslem world of Central Asia, partly as a response to dramatic events in the Middle East and partly to the great economic development in the region. These changes in the Moslem world especially affect the lives of women, since the cultural norms involving the protection of women are an important facet of Moslem life. The goal of this investigation is to show the importance of the ethnographic contribution to anthropological and sociological theory in investigating the new aspects of life in Central Asia. The first concept is the cultural identity of the Uyghur population of China. The second concept is that of Uyghur women, namely, the varied range of women from their role in a conservative, and patriarchal family structure to that of independent actors in a contemporary urban society. We understand that young Uyghur women face a more different set of choices than those of women in other Moslem cultures or in the rest of China. If they identify with their culture as Uyghur and Moslem, their culture restricts their opportunities as Chinese citizens. As students at Minorities University of China （MUC） in 13eijing, the relative freedom of Beijing influences them a great deal. Education and employment are the vehicles for integration into the larger Chinese group. Institutions, such as schools of ethnic studies, and the college competitive exam （the gaokao）, provide opportunities as well as obstacles for Uyghur women as part of the dynamic change in the Moslem world.展开更多
文摘Profound cultural changes are transforming the Moslem world of Central Asia, partly as a response to dramatic events in the Middle East and partly to the great economic development in the region. These changes in the Moslem world especially affect the lives of women, since the cultural norms involving the protection of women are an important facet of Moslem life. The goal of this investigation is to show the importance of the ethnographic contribution to anthropological and sociological theory in investigating the new aspects of life in Central Asia. The first concept is the cultural identity of the Uyghur population of China. The second concept is that of Uyghur women, namely, the varied range of women from their role in a conservative, and patriarchal family structure to that of independent actors in a contemporary urban society. We understand that young Uyghur women face a more different set of choices than those of women in other Moslem cultures or in the rest of China. If they identify with their culture as Uyghur and Moslem, their culture restricts their opportunities as Chinese citizens. As students at Minorities University of China （MUC） in 13eijing, the relative freedom of Beijing influences them a great deal. Education and employment are the vehicles for integration into the larger Chinese group. Institutions, such as schools of ethnic studies, and the college competitive exam （the gaokao）, provide opportunities as well as obstacles for Uyghur women as part of the dynamic change in the Moslem world.
