Gender relations in Bedouin communities in Israel: local government as a site of ambivalent modernity

Abstract

In this article, we examine the perceptions towards women and gender relations maintained by male, local authority officials within two Bedouin towns in Israel. As such, the current research lies at the intersection of local politics, gender, space and culture. We argue that analysis of these perspectives provides insights into the ambivalent nature of modernity: into the tension between the desire to preserve the traditional role of women in maintaining the family, and the recognition of the powerful potential of women to act as agents of change. Based on an analysis of personal interviews, the study traces the ways in which both power and vulnerability impact the attitudes and perspectives of these men officials. By applying narrative analysis, gendered power structures are examined within Bedouin society in the context of the local authority – zooming in on the narratives provided by the male authority officials. The findings reveal that the officials maintain a series of ambivalent and conflictual attitudes towards the role of women. Bearing in mind their potential impact on the quality of women's daily lives in local public spaces, it seems vitally important to account for the entire matrix of tensions and vulnerabilities that impact the municipal policy instruments at their disposal. The findings are relevant beyond the Bedouin communities in Israel and may serve as a platform for a wider discussion of the dilemmas of minority women in rapidly changing cultural environments, and ambivalent modernity.

Keywords:

• Bedouin community
• local government
• minority women
• minority men
• modernity
• narrative analysis

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank our research assistant Feniar Grenawe for her valuable assistance. We would also like to thank Professor Katherine Brickell, the editor of Gender, Place and Culture, and the anonymous reviewers of the article, for their invaluable comments and suggestions. All three authors contributed equally to this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Science, Israel under Grant [number 51576].

Notes on contributors

Ayelet Harel-Shalev

Ayelet Harel-Shalev is a senior lecturer at the Conflict Management and Resolution Program and The Department of Politics and Government, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Harel-Shalev is the author of The Challenge of Democracy: Citizenship, Rights, and Ethnic Conflicts in India and Israel – 2013, Cambridge University Press and Foundation Books, India. Her academic interests include Feminist IR, Gender and Politics Women Combatants; Ethnic conflicts and democracy; Minority Rights and Religion. Her recent publications include ‘Bringing Women’s Voices Back In: Conducting Narrative Analysis in IR’. International Studies Review, 2016 (with Shir Daphna-Tekoah); and ‘Gendering Conflict analysis - The case of Minority Women and Muslim Women’s Status in India’. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 2017.

Rebecca Kook

Rebecca Kook is a senior lecturer of Political Science in the Department of Politics and Government at Ben Gurion University of the Negev. Kook is the author of The Logic of Democratic Exclusion (Lexington Books 2001), and numerous articles on democracy, minorities and political representation. She is currently working on a research project along with Dr. Harel-Shalev and Dr. Yuval comparing the impact of local government on Arab, Ultra-Orthodox and secular women in Israel. Her recent articles include ‘Representation, minorities and electoral reform: The case of the Palestinian-Arab minority in Israel,’ Ethnic and Racial Studies 40(12), 2017, and ‘Multiculturalism and the Politics of Identity in Israel,’ in Joel Peters & Rob Pinfold (eds.) Understanding Israel: Political societal and security challenges. Routledge, 2017.

Fany Yuval

Fany Yuval is a senior lecturer in the Department of Public Policy and Administration, Guilford Glazer Faculty of Business and Management, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Yuval centers in her studies on local authorities and focuses on public management and policy in the public sector. More specifically, Yuval explores various aspects of the local government, including organizational behavior and strategic management; with particular interest on gender as well as minorities. Her publications include: ‘New Localism and Neutralizing Local Government: Has Anyone Bothered Asking the Public for Its Opinion?’ Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 2015 (with Beeri, Itai), ‘Between the quality of the environment and the quality of the performances in Israeli local government.’ Israel Affairs, 2014 (with Gideon Doron), and ‘Minorities in Democracy and Policing Policy: From Alienation to Cooperation’, Policing and Society, 2012 (with Ben-Porat, Guy)‏.‏