Doha: A seminar organized by the Minaretein Center, affiliated with the College of Islamic Studies at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), in cooperation with the Doha International Family Institute, shed light on the phenomenon of 'Family Silence and its Social Impacts', as part of the 'Contemporary Family' seminar series.
According to Qatar News Agency, the seminar, moderated by Dr. Mohammad Al Jamal, focused on three main axes: the concept of 'family silence' and its causes, its social and religious dimensions and its effects on the family, in addition to the legal and social solutions to address it.
The speakers of the seminar explained that 'family silence' refers to the isolation of one of the family members as a result of negative perceptions or unsuccessful experiences in dealing with the rest of the family members, which leads to a scarcity of conversation, weak communication and cold feelings. It is one of the factors leading to the disintegration of families in contemporary societies, due to the lack of a language of dialogue and the resulting psychological and social problems that may extend to other family members. They also considered that family silence is one of the most prominent causes of early divorce, due to the existence of an inverse relationship between marital silence and life satisfaction.
In this context, Dean of the College of Islamic Studies at HBKU Dr. Recep Senturk stressed that the phenomenon of family silence remains one of the most serious problems facing societies, noting that in Britain, a ministry was established to combat social loneliness due to the spread of individualism and selfishness in society.
For her part, Executive Director of the Doha International Family Institute Dr. Sharifa Al Emadi explained that the high rates of divorce in society are linked to the lack of dialogue between spouses, noting that many spouses do not exchange conversations or discuss their private issues, which leads to the exacerbation of marital problems and leads to divorce for illogical reasons.
Dr. Al Emadi also pointed out that a large percentage of children spend less than three hours a week with their families due to being busy with social media, noting that some fathers spend more time in front of electronic devices than sitting with their children, while some mothers suffer from being busy with other things despite being with their children.
In turn, Dr. Mohammad Al Mahmoud, a preacher at the Ministry of Endowments (Awqaf) and Islamic Affairs, pointed out that many of the cases that are referred to the Family Reconciliation Committee relate to complaints from spouses about the lack of conversation between the two partners.
He stressed that Islamic law differentiates between praiseworthy silence and reprehensible silence, noting that excessive talk may lead to disputes, while wise silence contributes to calming the atmosphere. He also explained that the point is not in the amount of talk, but in the importance of timing and the role of speech in enhancing understanding within the family.
For her part, Assistant Professor in the Social Work Program at Qatar University Dr. Yasmine Kabbara stressed that family silence reflects unspoken feelings and the absence of a common space for dialogue and interaction, noting that the danger of this phenomenon becomes apparent when non-communication becomes normal within the family.
Dr. Kabbara added that family silence affects society by increasing the number of divorces and domestic violence, and leads to weak family ties and the exacerbation of conflicts between individuals, in addition to its negative impact on the individual through loss of self-confidence and tendencies towards isolation or deviance.
At the end of the seminar, the participants recommended the necessity of including programs to enhance family communication within the school curricula, and establishing specialized support centers to provide family counseling, in addition to supporting research that addresses the phenomenon of family silence in the local context, its effects, and ways to address and prevent it, as well as enhancing the role of the media in spreading the culture of dialogue and family understanding.