On a recent business trip to Dubai, I caught a taxi from the Airport to my Hotel. The taxi driver was horrified that a woman was travelling alone. “Why does your husband let you?” he asked, and when I told him that my husband didn’t own me and nobody “let” me do anything, he looked totally dumbstruck. And in essence I think that is the difference between the European and the Middle Eastern cultures.

In most Middle Eastern cultures, women are second class citizens. Their place is in the home, and their role in life is solely to please their man……. first their Father, then their husband, and, latterly, the sons they are expected to produce. Women who choose not to marry, not to have children, or wish to pursue a career are very rare, because they are simply not allowed to live their lives that way. Men are all-powerful, and the “little woman” just does what she is told. Of course there are always some exceptions, but generally this is the way of the Middle East. Marriage is the ultimate goal for every woman, education is not considered to be so important, and the idea of independence or a woman being fulfilled by her career and not her family, is totally foreign to them.

A lot of this prejudice against women is obviously coming from a religious standpoint, and again, another huge difference between European and Middle Eastern cultures is the role of religion. Most European countries are pretty secular these days. They may describe themselves as nominally Christian, but most are multi-cultural. Churches stand next to Mosques and Synagogues, and those who wish to worship can do so freely, but most Europeans do not. Sundays in the UK are for gardening, home improvements and watching football. God does not come into them at all. Whereas in most Middle Eastern countries, the rule of the Imam or religious leader is much stronger. Islam, it seems has a stronger hold on it’s followers than Christianity, thus leading to a much stricter code of conduct and way of life in the Middle Eastern countries. Europe is generally far more tolerant.

Poverty is also another obvious difference. There are beggars everywhere in the Middle East. While some live in extreme wealth thanks to the oil boom, many others, especially the elderly and the disabled, live on the streets begging for their food. Yes of course, we do have beggars here in Europe too, but to be honest, most are begging for their drink or drugs money or because they are too lazy to work. Our Social Security systems mean that no one needs to be homeless or starving. The Middle East does not have a social security system.

Then the treatment of animals is another great difference. The European culture has a highly developed sense of care and responsibility towards pets. Most people here have pets, who are well-treated, given excellent veterinary care, insured and generally well looked after. In the Middle East animals are for work only – pets are really not usual there, and their day-to-day cruelty to their donkeys and other working animals makes most Europeans sick with rage.

So what does all this lead to? What are these differences saying to us? Where do they come from and what do they lead to? To sum up, I would say they can be described in one word – tolerance. European culture is a far more tolerant culture than the Middle Eastern one. As a woman I certainly know where I would prefer to live.