Gender Subordination in Bedouins

Paper Summary:

The first part of the paper is an overview of the role of women in Bedouin society. The next part examines how the same gendered divisions can be discerned in societies as diverse as the Yanomamo Indians of northern Brazil and the Berbers of Morocco. In the third part, the paper looks at how the effects of economic development and the forces of modernity reach even into the nomadic tribes of the desert and the rainforests. It examines how these changes have affected the communal relations among the groups and if modernity had effects on their existing gender ideals, and how these ethnic groups have responded.

From the Paper:

"Unlike Western society, the Bedouins do not place a great emphasis on the individual. In fact, blood ties serve to link people to the past and "bind them in the present" (41). Members of the Bedouins could trace their lineage back to genealogy, and these blood ties form an important part of their identity. In traditional Bedouin society, outsiders perceive thus people of the same kin interchangeably, and the way one kin member acts or is treated reflects on the entire group.
The foundation of honor in Bedouin society is based on the concept of asl. It is interesting to note that asl is closely linked with a person's genealogy as well. As with the ancient Chinese, who regarded non-Chinese visitors as "barbarians," the Bedouins of the Awlad Ali thus use asl to delineate between people who are of Bedouin and non-Bedouin descent."

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