Negev Bedouin women
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Languages | |
| Arabic (mainly Bedouin dialect, also Egyptian and Palestinian), Hebrew (Modern Israeli) | |
| Religion | |
| Islam |
The Bedouin are a primarily desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group. As a pastoral, nomadic society, they live in numerous nation-states in the Middle East. The Negev Bedouin live in the Negev region of Israel. After Israel's independence in 1948, many of the Bedouin who remained in the area were relocated to towns. Israel has built seven official Bedouin townships, and approximately half of all Negev Bedouin live in these towns. The remainder live in unrecognized, unplanned townships which are officially illegal. The Israeli government does not provide infrastructure assistance or other services to those Bedouin who live in the unrecognized towns.
As a minority group within Israeli society, the Bedouin are a marginalized group. Within this culture, women are said to be marginalized twice. They are marginalized once for being a Bedouin and a second time for being a woman.Marginalization as a Bedouin is common to both men and women, as members of a minority group. The marginalization as a woman stems from traditional gender norms and expectations within Negev Bedouin society. This marginalization manifests itself in employment, educational, and health care outcomes.
Traditionally, the Bedouin society was nomadic, pastoral, and agricultural based. Within this system, labor was divided along gender lines. Women were traditionally in charge of the agricultural activities, which included herding, grazing, fetching water, and raising crops, while men were in charge of guarding their land and receiving visitors. Bedouin culture, especially as it relates to gender norms, developed around this economic structure. In accordance with these traditional economic roles, women in Bedouin society did not interact with strangers, especially unfamiliar men. Bedouin men mediated most of the interactions their families have with the larger society. As such, Bedouin culture became highly patriarchal. Within this traditional system, the men have held most of the power, but the vital economic roles of the women granted them significant degree of influence over the household decision-making.
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