THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
24 Friday, July 2, 1982
The Arab Woman in Israel Is Changing Her Image
By ROCHELLE
FURSTENBERG
Israel Govt. Press Service
JERUSALEM — As
women fight for their rights
throughout the world, a
little-known but important
segment of the Middle East
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population — Israeli Arab
women — is showing a
unique change of con-
sciousness.
We don't oppose our hus-
bands, but we do use per-
suasion to bring them over
to our points of view," says
one young woman reflecting
upon the growing confi-
dence and family power of
the Israeli Arab woman.
New patterns of behavior
are beginning to appear
among Israel's Arab citi-
zens, about 15 percent of Is-
rael's total population.
Paradoxically, while some
Arab women inside and out-
side Israel's borders have
been affected by Islamic
fiindamentalism, more and
more Arab women in Israel
today are working outside
the home and having
smaller families.
Many experts attribute
this trend to higher eco-
nomic expectations,
changing work patterns
that are less agricultural,
and the influence of tele-
vision. Others cite con-
tact with the more wes-
ternized Israeli Jewish
woman, Israel's pro-
gressive legislation and a
highly developed trade
union system.
In the past, Israeli Arabs,
guarding their cultural au-
tonomy, were reluctant to
effect social change for fear
of losing their Arab iden-
tity. Today, this is less the
case. To be sure, a touch of
religious fundamentalism
has appeared in some Is-
raeli Arab villages where,
influenced by visits to
Mecca and the Islamic=revi-
val of religion, some young
women have returned to the
traditional veil. But this
phenomenon seems neglig-
ible in the face of the larger
social and economic de-
velopments that are taking
place.
On the whole, the Israeli
Arab woman is seeking to
adapt to these develop-
ments, but within the
framework of her religion
and without endangering
her traditions and sense of
self.
"We can't imitate. We
have good traditions and
we're proud of them.
Otherwise we'll lose our
head and our feet," says
Enaem Zuabi of Nazareth, a
woman from educated,
upper-class Moslem Circles
who has for many years
worked for the social and
educational advancement of
Arab women. Her husband,
a Labor Party representa-
tive to the Knesset, has
encouraged her in these ac-
tivities, which involve or-
ganizing classes for women,
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not only in dressmaking
and domestic science, but in
mathematics and Arabic as
well.
Mrs. Zuabi attributes her
success in advancing
women's education to the
fact that she is a traditional
Moslem. "I practice the reli-
gion," she explains. "I ob-
serve the fasts. I have pro-
ved that one can be religious
and still progressive as far
as women are concerned.
Therefore people will listen
to me."
In recent years educated
Arab women have begun to
attain positions in the gov-
ernments of some of the sur-
rounding Arabs countries.
But in most respects, the
welfare of the Arab woman,
and particularly her legal
status, is better in Israel
than in the Arab states.
Israel is one of only
three countries in the
region — the other two
are Turkey and Tunisia
— which prohibit bigamy
by Arab men and, per-
haps even more impor-
tant, where the hus-
band's rights of "talaq"
has been abolished. This
means that it is illegal for
a husband to send his
wife away or divorce her
without her consent; Is-
raeli law demands the
consent of both sides in a
divorce. The law is im-
portant not only in itself,
but in the confidence it
affords married women
who previously lived in
fear of rejection.
Compulsory education is
another factor in extending
the options of the Arab
woman. When Israel was
established in 1948, only 15
percent of elementary -
school - age Israeli Arab
girls attended school; statis-
tics in the late 1970s indi-
cate that 89 percent attend
elementary school, 97 per-
cent in the cities.
According to a 1975 UN-
ESCO study in the Arab
countries, 52 percent of the
girls between the ages of 6
and 11 attended school in
Egypt; 24 percent in Saudi
Arabia; 77 percent in Syria;
85 percent in Lebanon and
71 percent in Jordan.
Israel's impressive record
in this area does not mean
that no problems are
encountered in the educa-
tion of the Israeli Arab girl.
The drop-out rate is consid-
erable in junior high school
and high school; often those
who leave school come from
families where the daugh-
ter is needed to help at home
or the father feels that he
cannot afford to educate his
daughters. Recently, girls
have also been discontinu-
ing their studies and going
to work in factories in order
to help the family finan-
cially.
In many ways, the Is-
raeli Arab woman is in a
critical stage of transi-
tion. No longer protected
in her father's home until
marriage, and marrying
at a later age than she did
formerly, she needs
moral and psychological
direction for a society
where men and women
mingle freely.
In an attempt to deal with creasing use of contracep-
the problems that these tives, particularly among
young women face, Mrs. married women in the city
Zuabi hosts a thrice-weekly who work and want to raise
radio program for the fam- their standard of living.
ily, in which she discusses
She has observed the
social issues concerning the paradoxes of young women
Israeli Arab today.
from the strictly-religious
Gynecologist Dr. Marie Druze villages who attend
Haddad, the first Arab classes at night in Kiryat
woman to become a doctor Shmona and the small
in Israel, is also concerned group of Arab women who
with answering the needs of have gone back to tradi-
the new Israeli Arab tional dress but also go to
woman. She has recently the university and, when
written a book on adoles- married, practice family
cence and sexual develop- planning.
ment, the first of its kind to
It is evident that the old
be written in Israel in stereotypes are falling'
Arabic.
away.
Designed for young
people and their parents,
her book attempts to ex- -
plain in simplified language
the biological processes,
sexual diseases and medical
and social considerations in
using contraceptives. Coun-
selling control of sexual
havior, she also points out
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