Research Report 2
INQ-260
Dr.Mehrotra
Roanoke College
Tatiana Cherry Santos
10/13/18
Palestine not only reflects unique cultural aspects, traditions, a rich history filled with conflict, and social norms but also reflects a country with complex gender relations and familial structures. These structures and relations not only give insight into the daily lives of the Palestinian people but also show how historic conflict and traditions shape the country. “The political, economic, and social dimensions of Palestinian life are fragmented due to long (and seemingly endless) conflict” (Japan International Cooperation Agency & Kokusai Kogyo Co., Ltd., p.8, 2016). Not only does Palestine has a national identity and very dear traditions of their own, the conflict between Israel and Palestine has also had a great impact on Palestinian culture, livelihood and will offer some support when understanding the gender and familial relations of Palestine.
To begin, Palestine has a sex ratio of 103 men for every 100 women (Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, p.1, 2018) and their total fertility rate stands at 4.01(The World Bank, 2016) , making Palestine have a close to equal sex ratio and a relatively high birth rate. Though they do not have as skewed as a sex ratio as other countries, such as Qatar (341) and The United Arab Emirates (218), there is still an issue of gender inequality present (World Bank, 2016). Some of the gender-based issues are seen in politics, early marriage, honor killings, and a rise of conservatism that not only lead to violence in some cases but also dictate how a woman is supposed to act due to the inequality and cultural norms.
According to The Japan International Cooperation Agency and Kokusai Kogyo Co. (2016), many of the gender and social norms have been influenced by Arab and Islamic values due to many men having to work in surrounding countries, 40% rate of poverty in Gaza alone, with harsher views and laws on women. Palestinian men spend time in these cultures and communities thus bringing back an influenced idea of what women should wear, such as veils like the Niqab, and how women should act. These ideas include women being the caretakers of the home as a wife and mother, as well as not being seen by non-relative men (Japan International Cooperation Agency & Kokusai Kogyo Co., Ltd., p.8, 2016). This means there is a very small percentage of women who are participating in the workforce and the unemployment rate is much higher for women, at about 47.4% to the men’s 22.3% (Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, p.2, 2018). Some laws, such as the Palestinian Labor Law of 2000, do not guarantee equal rights, making it hard for women to have success in domestic, agricultural, and informal labor, which is the likely place for them to work (European Parliament, p.8, 2011). There has since been greater economic necessity allowing more women to join the workforce but have done little to improve work equality and gender equality. This can also be seen in the pay gap. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (2018), women in Palestine make much less than men with a daily wage of NIS 84.6 whereas the daily wage for men is at NIS 119.6.
The workforce, however, is not reflective of the high education levels that women in Palestine achieve. The literacy rate in Palestine for women is 95.7% with men only leading with a 3% at 98.6% and the high school enrollment rate for women is 80.4%, which is much higher than the men’s at 60.5% (Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, p.1, 2018). It could be said that Palestinian women are more educated than their male peers and even though there is an international trend of more education equaling more participation in economic activities, that is not true as previously stated. As the Palestinian women are among the most educated in the Middle East and “despite cultural and political challenges, girls’ education in Palestine is progressing well” (Cardwell, p.1, 2018), which gives hope to brighter and more equal future for Palestine.
Next, given the context of where Palestinian women stand in terms of gender structures, these ideas and norms transfer into marriage and mating. Marriage is an important aspect in Palestinian life and many single Gazans say, “ Marriage is a way to provide emotional, social, and physical support in the face of hardships” (Arafat, p.1, 2017). Though the idea of marriage is a good one for most, Palestine is facing a marriage crisis, similar in a way to Japan, with many single women not able to find husbands due to many factors such as: the conflict between Palestine and Israel, men fleeing to other countries for work, and some refuse to marry. As mentioned by Arafat (2017), official statistics show that there are about 125,000 single women in a population of 180,00 (single men and women). Since there is such a decrease in marriage, many families are looking for younger girls, about 18-20, to marry their sons, meaning that women over 20 are considered old. Another reason young men are not getting married is that of the high cost of weddings and marriage. According to AFP (2016) and Arafat (2017), the cheapest wedding cost about $10,000 whereas a nicer wedding can reach up to $30,000. Since young men already have to leave the region to work, they do not have money saved or any disposable income to spend on a wedding, especially since there is a social pressure to have nice and elaborate weddings. As well as the young men, the father of the brides have to spend a lot if not pay for the majority of the wedding, which he can make back in donations that’s wedding guest give to the family of the bride (AFP, p.1, 2016). However, this does not always work since many guests are now leaving unmarked and empty envelopes, which then makes the family of the bride or groom not contribute to other weddings. All these factors are contributing to the decline and deterrent of marriage rates, but there are also other issues revolving around marriage that Palestine faces.
Palestine is also facing the issue of early marriages and had laws that did favor rapist; Article 308 had allowed alleged rapists to escape prosecution and could allow convicted rapists to avoid imprisonment if they married their victims (Human Rights Watch, 2018). Not only do these laws contribute to early marriage, but many statistics have also shown that early marriage is now becoming more common with one in ten, 15 to 19- year-old girls being married (Du Monde, p.2, 2011). Since marriage is a family matter in Palestine, “The lack of education, lack of awareness, and ignorance contribute to young girls getting married” and many girls do blame their parents for consenting to their early marriages (Jarallah, p.2, 2008). Not only are the girls young when married, but also many other problems arise in the marriage. As mentioned by Du Monde (2011), these early marriages can lead to domestic abuse, rape, and maltreatment among many other health implications.
Though Palestine is facing these issues, those who have been married or are married are usually in a monogamous relationship, meaning there are only two people in the relationship and is more commonly heterosexual. The marriages can be arranged or as of more recently, can be chosen by free choice. The couple then has a very traditional Palestinian wedding that consists of many aspects. Kanj (2017) has stated that there are many unique traditions within a wedding that includes the henna night of a bride and is “an ancient tradition, which was not only a chance to make last minute arrangements and decorations but also an opportunity for the families of both sides to celebrate and bond together before the wedding ceremony” (Kanj, p.1, 2017). The wedding also includes the value of community and every member of the village or town is invited and since the groom is in charge of the financial aspect, he was the one who would go door to door and personally invite all the members of the community (Kanj, p.1, 2017). Weddings are a very joyous celebration in Palestine, but only if a couple can get married and follows a very traditional heterosexual and monogamous lifestyle. There has been evidence to suggest that there is practice of Polygamy in Palestine. According to Naser-Najjab (2015), in the mid-1990’s about 4.5% of families in the West Bank practiced polygamy. Even though that number isn’t high, it is still interesting to see how some families have practiced polygamy as it goes against monogamy and traditional family values in Palestine. It is hard to practice polygamy in Palestine today as there isn’t clear law and many women do not want to be second wives to men nor do they want that for their daughters. “So too have the Israeli measures against Palestinians, since they have negatively affected Palestinian socioeconomic life and by dividing the land and its integrity, have weakened the Palestinian Authority and its ability to restore and enforce law” (Naser-Najjab, p.1105, 2015). There is also a very anti-gay sentiment in Palestine as the society punishes homosexuality by death. Since this value and norm of heterosexuality is strong, many gay Palestinians -especially Gazans- keep their identities hidden and live double lives (Rozovsky, 2018). “In modern Palestinian society, homosexuality is highly stigmatized and condemned. M., a Palestinian psychologist living and working in Germany, who spoke with Haaretz on condition that he remain anonymous, says that the society’s negative attitude toward homosexuality is not necessarily connected to Islam itself, but rather to the culture and the notion of masculinity” (Rozovsky, p.1, 2018). Since Palestine has such string values on marriage and mating, monogamy and heterosexuality dominate the scene.
Family life in Palestine is important and could be argued that is growing stronger with the conflict between Palestine and Israel. The family structure in Palestine is based around feminine and masculine norms. The mother staying home and taking care of the children and home while the father works and is the main source of income. “These values included connection among family members, the importance of autonomy and educational attainment for women and children, desires for the physical safety of one’s family, and the need for fathers to attain economic security. Similarly, the men also spoke of the importance of economic security to a man’s sense of self and issues of women’s autonomy. Though there were differences in the themes that emerged from the men’s and women’s interviews, both groups described how the political context creates barriers that prevent families from achieving wellbeing” (Spellings, p.5, 2014). Though family values could be growing in Palestine, not everyone can obtain it due to the conflict. Though family values could be growing in Palestine, not everyone can obtain it due to the conflict. It is especially hard for children in Palestine due to the tremendous trauma and environment they live in. “Although these Palestinian children presented a moderate degree of traumatization, they nonetheless continued to display considerable resources and functioning factors in terms of satisfaction with their families, school and environment” (Veronese, Fiore, Castiglioni, & Natour, 2014). In the mid 1990’s adolescences are also very aware of the family structure and do want to achieve the same when they are older (Fronk, Huntington & Chadwick, 1999). However this family structure and the norms around gender are changing, as the newer generations are becoming more educated and fighting for gender equality.
Palestine not only has a very unique and strong culture that effects day-to-day life for every Palestinian but is also influenced by the conflict between Israel. With values, norms, and traditions, many laws and social structures are in effect but are starting to be challenged. Palestine faces many triumphs and tribulations and will only continue to grow as a society.
References:
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