To Live In Pakistan

The culture of Pakistan is a combination of unique and diverse ethnic groups that come together to create a truly influential place to live or visit. In ancient times, Pakistan used to be the epitome of a cultural gather place. (1) This of course going back to the time when the Persian Empire included what is now known as Pakistan. Dating back to almost 550 B.C., the Persian Empire spanned from Anatolia and Egypt across western Asia and into India and Central Asia. (2) With such a wide area of territory, comes with a wide degree of influence from other cultures, essentially making it a giant melting pot of cultures in one country. Because of the diversity of groups in this country, it's hard to generalize it's culture because there is bound to be some variation amongst them.

Compared to most common middle eastern countries (India, China, Israel) their culture is pretty similar. By this I mean that family is a part of the social structure and individuals identity. It's very traditional in a sense that it comes before any activity, social relationships and even someone's job. Not only is it highly privatized, it's also fairly large in average members per family, that number being six children. (3) Having such large family core values spreads into other hierarchies of society. People are respected because of their age and position; they're introduced first, provided the best selection of food, and pretty much treated as if they were of royalty, which is highly different from western society. (2)

Pakistani society is primarily multilingual, multi-ethnic, and multicultural; which by definition is why I would refer to it as a melting pot country. (1) The mast majority of individuals are Sunni Muslim, the next majority are Shiite Muslims, followed by Christians. Being in the middle east, it's no surprise that the country is dominated by a religion like Islam. (2) One of the prevalent rituals for Muslims is the month of Ramadan, during which time they are required to fast from dawn to sunset (this is not required of very young children, the elderly, or pregnant women). Ramadan is also a time when Muslims thank Allah for his blessings during the past year. An additional requirement during Ramadan is that all Muslims must help the less fortunate with both cash and food gifts. There are also to be absolutely no business or government meetings during this time either, it's taken very seriously in both household customs and professional ones. (2) The Eid, or day ending Ramadan, starts with an elaborate breakfast; then Muslims go to a mosque or special park for prayer. (3) The official language of Pakistan is Urdu but generally English is used in the higher rankings of Pakistani elite and government officials. Being able to speak English fluently represents a sign of power, and also a sign of wealth and knowledge. (4)

Business is a profession in Pakistan that is taken very seriously, meaning that a third party recommendation is almost required to get into any position of the corporate ladder. This is because that they would prefer to work with someone they know and can trust in a position of work, and will spend time getting to know one another. Pakistanians prefer to handle business in person, and for this reason; business meeting are normally scheduled, in writing, three to four weeks in advance, depending on the urgency of the meeting. (2) Meetings are normally conducted in a very specific manner, the first of which is starts after questions of each others family and health, but never about the other man's wife. A man's wife is to be kept private, and never to be inquired about ever. (1)

Domestic violence and the Islam faith seem to fall in the same hand, however this could be disputed by almost anyone. (5) A recent study done by the tribune, a popular paper based out of middle east reports that more than one thousand women and girls are victims of "honor killings" every year, and also reported that