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UN International Day of Families 2012
Day of Families Observed in Frankfurt
Written by Fritz Piepenburg, UPF-Germany
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Frankfurt, Germany - A commemoration of the International Day of Families in Frankfurt on May 15 had the motto “Ensuring Work Family Balance.” Following a musical introduction by the singer Margaret Staudinger, Thea Kuenzig explained that the International Day of Families highlights the significance of the family for society at large.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon explained the aim of celebrating this day as follows: “This year’s International Day of Families highlights the need for work-family balance. The aim is to help workers everywhere provide for their families financially and emotionally, while also contributing to the socio-economic development of their societies.”
Dr. Tariq Ali, who is responsible for public relations in his Islamic community of Wiesbaden, elaborated on the position of the family in Islam. The Qur'an calls upon believers to honor Allah and bestow benevolence upon their parents. People should take good care of their aged parents and pray for them. When the Prophet Mohammed was asked who is the closest to oneself, he answered three times “your mother,” and only the fourth time “your father.” According to another hadith (words of the Prophet and his early followers), Mohammed advised giving the following education to one’s children: play with them for the first seven years, educate them well during the next seven years, and become their good friend during the third seven years. Dr. Ali also mentioned the great tension among Muslim youth growing up in Western society, being taught traditional values and behavior at home while being confronted with a wildly open society and its media outlets outside their homes. For parents, this antagonism poses a great challenge.
Tariq Arif, the second speaker, represented the faith community of the Ahmadiyya Muslims. The purpose of all human endeavor should be to ensure that Allah is pleased. This aim also pertains to the family. Wealth and children are blessings of Allah but also a way of testing. If material wealth or children take first place in one’s life, it is against Allah’s will. Arif also elaborated on the classic division of work between husband and wife. Man, by virtue of his physical strength, used to be responsible for sustaining the family, while the woman took care of the home and the children. The transfer of values and behavioral patterns within the family can be supported, but never be substituted by nurseries or kindergartens. However, he also admitted that in modern society sometimes the wife has the better job and earns more money than the husband. In this case she may become the main sustainer of the family while the husband may take on a bigger role at home.
Hildegard Piepenburg from UPF-Germany began her talk by stating that she is a mother of four children. The family is the dwelling of God, and His love unfolds in the various inter-familial relationships. The family is also a training ground for a happy and fulfilled life in this world and beyond. However, the family is in grave danger: in Germany the divorce rate tops 50 percent, while the birth rate has dropped to 1.3 children per woman. One third of all women at the age of 40 chose to remain without a child; the percentage is even greater among academically trained women in higher positions. Pure economic interest in women as an available labor force, extreme feminist views, and regarding children as merely a hindrance to one’s personal career are to be blamed for this development. Added to this is the little respect and reverence modern society holds for motherhood and the educational tasks undertaken within the home. Many politicians and media people still don’t understand that for children ages one to three, the bonding with their own parents is far more important for stable development than educational programs outside the home, no matter how well devised. She suggested raising awareness and appreciation for educational efforts within the family by supporting young families financially and recognizing their investment in the form of pension rights regardless of who is taking care of the children, the mother or the father. This would remedy the social imbalance in which childless couples profit from high pensions while families with a parent devoted to raising children are left out, because only the years in the labor market count.
The three presentations were followed by a lively panel discussion with many questions and comments from the floor. At the end of the event, UPF-Frankfurt presented three-generation families with a certificate of honor. It was pointed out that three-generation families, if seen from a global and historic perspective, are the norm, not the exception. Only with the advance of industrialization and demands for skilled labor was the extended family broken up and substituted by nurseries for the youngest and separate homes for the aged. Four families were honored in this way, one of them being a four-generation family.
Text of the Certificate in Honor of Three-Generation Families
A functioning three-generation family has many advantages. Not only can grandparents support parents in taking care of the children but also parents can help their parents at any time if the need should arise. For the children, free and unrestricted access to their grandparents greatly enriches their experiences of the world and emotional development. On the other hand, grandchildren are a wellspring for joy and a positive challenge to their grandparents. There are only winners in a three-generation family. Therefore, it is the wish of the Universal Peace Federation to honor and encourage such families.
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