The present is made from the past and from the womb of the present the future is born. It is always necessary for us humans to participate in and advance our societies. This is what the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) called for when he said: “if on the Day of Resurrection one of you has a sapling in his hand, let him plant it.”
There is much value to actively participating in building society and preparing for the next generation. They will face challenges of various kinds. The youth and the new generation will also have to preserve the political, social and economic gains achieved by previous generations.
However, it is also the right of young people in our region to claim their share in modern civilisation and to knock on the doors of rich societies and developed countries to help them build better societies by transferring technological expertise.
There are also many different factors that influence the participation of individuals in political and social life, the most important of which are the quantity and quality of political inputs or stimuli to which the person is exposed. The social and economic background of a person also plays a role as well as the spaces available to young people where they can express thoughts and opinions on, for example, politics.
Hence, I´m wondering then what is behind the reluctance of many young people in my country today to partake in the political scene compared to the generation of their parents. There are many more channels today one can use to express his or her opinion. But there are many more both cultural and socioeconomic factors that make the youth stay away from politics today:
The social factor: Research often tends to show that upper-class youth are more engaged in the political sector than the middle class youth and the poor. They are also well-versed socially and culturally and get trained to produce in-depth ideas and strong analyses. The problem oftentimes goes back to education and our educational sector that doesn´t help spur enough youth from other social classes to participate in political life.
The economic factor: The economic factor is another variable that influences the reluctance of young people to participate in political life. Many young people in our region suffer from poverty and are thus preoccupied with finding enough work to make ends meet. They need to make sure that they have enough food on the table and that they can pay for their housing. For them, getting involved in politics is considered a kind of luxury. Economic hardship is a major reason for why many youths here are not involved in politics.
The cultural factor: In recent years, there has been an increase in religious and ideological extremist rhetoric which affects the youth.
In conclusion, the younger generation is more fortunate than the generation of their parents in regards to the levels of education and cultural and social activities offered to them. Unfortunately, this generation did not rise up as their parents did. Their parents worked hard under difficult circumstances to achieve their goals. In my view, the previous generation was in essence a generation that carried a banner of light but their children haven´t carried it on.
