Government | Wednesday 27 July, 2016 7:30 am |

The Council of Ministers’ approval to establish the Family Affairs Council has been widely welcomed.

The Cabinet in its session on Monday gave the go-ahead to establish the Council to enhance the position and role of the family in the advancement of society.

Minister of Labor and Social Development Mufrej Al-Haqbani extended thanks to the leadership for the Cabinet’s approval to establish the Council.

As the designated chairman of the Council, Al-Haqbani promised to work to achieve the aspired objectives and promote family cohesion.

He said that the Council bears the responsibility of enhancing social ties and values.

Welcoming the Council, a Saudi academic said, “It is important to emphasize the role of the family these days when society is losing its values.”

The Council will be tasked with taking care of family affairs in the Kingdom and safeguarding a strong family, holding fast to religious and moral values in raising children.

A Saudi healthcare practitioner said that the family is the most important social institution in the Kingdom.

“For us, the family is the primary basis of identity and status. Our family values are compatible with and supported by Islamic family laws,” she said.
The values and practices inherent in these ideals as well as adherence to Islam are at the heart of the cultural homogeneity in the Kingdom.

Society as a whole values behavior displaying generosity, selflessness, and hospitality.

But of late, family values are being eroded because of modernization and urbanization. In the 60s, the population lived predominantly in small towns and villages. Jeddah, then the largest city, had a population of about 250,000, and Riyadh had about 200,000. Today, the great majority of Saudis live in urban areas.

The information revolution has also had an impact on society. In 2016, Saudi Arabia had 24.2 million Internet users. This figure is projected to grow to 27.9 million Internet users in 2021. The total number of mobile subscriptions reached around 51 million by the end of Q1 2016, with penetration rate of 160.6%, according to a report by the Communication and Information Technology Commission.

Saudis are now very active on social media. As of the fourth quarter of 2015, 35 percent of the total population were active social media users, according to a report.

One of the most obvious results of the population explosion and rapid modernization over the last 50 years has been the creation of sequential generation gaps.

Under these circumstances, the role of the Family Affairs Council becomes very important.