9/20/95 6:13:31 PM
AnnGardner (Responding to a question on Bedouins and Development): They always have needed income, as they cannot survive in a desert without purchasing goods. But now we are talking about their land being claimed by the state to sell to Hilton and such. They do make $$$ on tourism but it has become the main source for them and they are dealing with the lowest economic level. Mostly backpacking tourists or people who come on treks via a middle person.
EvaS: Are the Bedouin Moslems? Are the women veiled and were they always?
AnnGardner: Yes. They are Muslims and they veil but they had many traditional beliefs that were not orthodox, such as the women praying to the new moon. But now they are exposed to radio & TV from Saudi Arabia and clerics from Egypt who are changing how they act as Muslims. Much more conservative. Women stay in the house.
TigerTavii: Ann did you live among the Bedouin?? As in with a family?? How did they react to you?
AnnGardner: Yes, I lived with a family that had two wives and a total of six sons and two girls. Each wife had a seperate house. Most of the "kids" were a few years older than myself. I was welcomed as the Bedouins have a long tradition of hospitality.
EvaS: What do you know about the origins of praying to the new moon? Sounds very ancient.
AnnGardner: They don't know the origins but their life was very grounded in spiritual relations to the desert and such.
Spipapu: What forms did the hospitality that you experienced take?
AnnGardner: Well, letting me stay with them and never accepting board. Not many Americans would accept someone who appeared on their doorstep, I guess.
TigerTavii: Were you treated like a woman in their culture Ann or like an American?
AnnGardner: Both. I was never held to the codes for women as strictly; like I went wherever I wanted when I wanted.
EvaS: Ann, do the Bedu practice female genital mutilation?
AnnGardner: Yes. When a girl is about eight they cut off the tip of her clitoris, which also affects the growth of her inner vaginal lips. A girl would be considered unclean and immodest otherwise. They said it was for religious cleanliness but this is not in the Koran and is pre-Islamic in origin.
TigerTavii: I find that practice hard to accept Ann. What did you think?
AnnGardner: Yes, it is terrible and I think it should change. Since their society is going through flux anyway, I am hopeful that any future educational programs can stop it.
TeacherMsJ: What was your typical day like? How long did you live with the Bedouins?
AnnGardner: I spent my days with the women and the older girls --often herding or visiting. I have spent about three years total with them.
EvaS: Have they always practiced genital mutiliation? Is it traditional with them?
AnnGardner: Yes, they have always practiced genital mutilation and I think educational programs could address that and wife- beating.
Spipapu: Is there any effort to keep some of the old ways?
AnnGardner: Well, they still herd in the springtime some, and while they no longer need to weave tents much, there is a tourist interest in Bedouin handicrafts, like rugs and beadwork. Also, the family has always been very important and remains so.
EvaS: Ann, since they're now cloistered pretty much, what is courtship like? Or are marriages arranged?
AnnGardner: The marriages used to be arranged, but they would meet secretly while herding with boyfriends. Now they can perhaps marry openly by choice but the father may pick the lineage and then the girl picks the individual, if he is interested. Actually, it was a radio program from Saudi that explained that arranged marriages are against Islam and that helped ease things. There is no courtship,formally .
TigerTavii: Ann, what were your research goals? And what were some of your results/ conclusions?
AnnGardner: My research goals were, at first, to understand women and their daily lives, but as development changed their lives so dramtically, I became interested in development in regard to very personal issues. Such as gossip networks and power, as well as the bigger economic problems. For example, now that women are more isolated, they no longer have as wide a support system.
EvaS: How old are the girls usually when they marry? And how do they feel about second wives?
AnnGardner: Anywhere from about fourteen to early twenties and I know of only one set of two wives that get along. It is very problematic to have a co-wife!
Spipapu: How will the new Palestinian state affect the Bedouin?
AnnGardner: If the state and other countries have open borders, the Bedouins in Sinai are well-placed to be truckers or laborers, as they have relatives in most of the surrounding countries and speak Hebrew too!
EvaS: Tell us about your findings re the gossip network. This interests me greatly. In our own culture, too.
AnnGardner: Gossip was one of my main focuses. I was especially interested in how women would use gossip to better their situation. This was especially the case in a marital dispute, when a woman would leave her husband and ask for a legal mediation to air her complaints. So beforehand, she and her family, as well as he and his family, would try to get public opinion on their side through gossip.
TigerTavii: Ann you mentioned earlier something about domestic violence. Could you expound on that?
AnnGardner: Almost all the wives were beaten, especially during the first seven years of marriage and the husbands were allowed to do so by tribal law AS LONG AS there was no blood. Some fathers, though, would object even if there was no blood spilt.
TigerTavii: Why the first 7 years??!! And what were the conditions that a woman would seek legal means?
AnnGardner: It took that long for a bad arranged marriage to even out, through time and children. A woman just had to leave and seek sancturary but often her father arranged the marriage for his own socio-economic ties, and thus her family would not extend themselves too far on her behalf.
Spipapu: What is your experience of wearing the veil? Do you agree with that tradition?
AnnGardner: Well, it keeps the intense sun from burning one's nose and lips! But it should be a woman's choice.
TigerTavii: LOL Ann....good point about the burns. :)
TigerTavii: Why do the men insist on this tradition of the veil?
AnnGardner: Because the woman would be considered immodest and thus the honor of her family would be lessened.
TigerTavii: Ann, what about the schooling and medical needs of the Bedouins?
AnnGardner: Israel provided them with good medical care but they were too nomadic to start a school until 1981. Egypt does not provide good medical care, unless they can afford to go to private doctors. And the school that the Bedouins who I know go to is not good, but the director wants to improve it.
TigerTavii: What has been the US influence in this region Ann??
AnnGardner: The US sponsored the Camp David Peace Accords and thus the return of Sinai to Egypt. Much of the UN force stationed there are American and we have given over $30 billion in aid per the Camp David Accords. In fact, the US Agency for International Development planned and funded much of the development of Sinai.
Spipapu: What are they taught in school? Is there a difference in male and female education? Which language is the standard?
AnnGardner: Right now, they are taught by rote, they do not learn much. Some girls attend till puperty. They need a female teacher. They learn written Arabic, or Modern Standard Arabic, and can only converse in the Egyptian dialect
TeacherMsJ: How many Bedouin are there?
AnnGardner: I lived with a clan of about 650 but their tribe in all of Sinai numbered around 6,500 or so.
EvaS: Ann, what is a typical day like for a wife?
AnnGardner: Well, nowadays she sees to the household chores, of which there are many more since they are settled. Meals are a much bigger production for instance, whereas before she didn't even have to fix lunch if she was off with the goats.
TeacherMsJ: What kind of housing do they live in?
AnnGardner: Those who can afford to now live in cinder-block homes, while others live in wood shacks.
Spipapu: Are they westernizing their living habits? Clothes? Activities like shopping, going to movies, etc.?
AnnGardner: Not westernizing in that way, but they are much more involved in consumerism. Now they have funiture, lots of changes of clothes, etc.
TigerTavii: Are the women allowed to travel Ann?
AnnGardner: Not far without their husband's permission but a few times during the Israeli occupation some young wives left their husbands by riding on the buses! I think they were following my example. Nowadays, they are too frightened of the Egyptians to ride alone.
TigerTavii: Do many of these men take on non-Bedouin women as wifes/mistresses? How do the Bedouin women feel about this??
AnnGardner: Yes, there have been lots of affairs with the European tourist girls, especially over the last ten years. But only two marriages and neither woman is accepted and neither lives in the village.
EvaS: I guess the big test of their lifestyle is whether they have tv or not. Do they?
AnnGardner: Yes, the power lines came in the late 1980s but many cannot understand the Arabic as it is either a different dialect or is a form used just in media.
TigerTavii: Ann, is there a preference for bearing male children rather than females as there is in India?
AnnGardner: Yes, but a mother will also want girls to help with the housework.
Spipapu: Would you say their current living patterns have less effect on the environment than when they were nomadic?
AnnGardner: No, because before they were all spread out in camps. Whereas now they are all in one place.
Spipapu: Are they concerned with the environment?
AnnGardner: Just in the immediate sense, like not enough local firefuel sources or the buildup of trash.
TigerTavii: Ann, what is the Bedouin concerns with the current violence in the region?
AnnGardner: All of it is in Egypt proper, not in Sinai as the Bedouins would never allow that to happen. So tourism is booming.
TigerTavii : I see. Why would the Bedouins never allow violence to happen? How do they enforce that?
AnnGardner: They would notice what strangers were up to and stop it.
Spipapu: Thanks everyone. I learned alot!!
EvaS: Ann, this was great!:)
TigerTavii: Thanks to all for coming and the great questions. Ann - Thanks SO MUCH!!! :)
BillTur: This has been a great presentation, one of the most interesting we have had.
AnnGardner: You are most welcome! Good Night all.
9/20/95 7:14:36 PM Closing Log file.
SOME LINKS TO RELEVANT SITES:
Live AOL Chat on Sinai Bedouin Women with Ann Gardner. AnthroNet Applied Anthro Fourth World Project Human Rights Watch Female Genital Mutilation Research Global Fund for Women UN/Women Women of Africa Resources Women's Studies Resources Women in Development Network International Affairs Resources Middle East Network Information Center
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