Defiance and Compliance - Negotiating Gender in Low-Income Cairo

The gap between rich and poor is widening in most countries, putting more pressure on women in particular who often find themselves with the ultimate responsibility to provide for their families, especially their children, in the face of economic and political discrimination. Based on participant observation and in-depth interviews in four low-income neighborhoods in Cairo, this book offers rich, novel and intimate data relating to poor women's lives and everyday forms of resistance to gender inequalities in the labor market and at home. In contrast to the common stereotype of Middle Eastern women as totally oppressed and devoid of agency, this study shows the complex and diverse ways in which low-income women devise strategies to contest existing gender arrangements and improve their situation. It is a significant contribution to current debates about poverty, gender, power, and resistance.

List of contents

Dedication

Acknowledgement

A Note on Transliteration

Introduction: A Personal Trajectory

Chapter 1. Rethinking Approaches to Resistance, Power and Gender Relations: Towards a Theoretical Framework

Chapter 2. The Macrocontext: an Overview of Sociopolitical and Economic Transformations in Egypt

Chapter 3. The Research Setting and Characteristics of the Study Community

Chapter 4. Ethnography in One's Native City: Research Approach, Methods, and Fieldwork Encounters

Chapter 5. Premarital Standards and Expectations

Chapter 6. Marriage Transactions and Negotiations

Chapter 7. Defiance and Acquiescence in The Labor Market

Chapter 8. Conjugal Arrangements and Sexuality

Chapter 9. Intrahousehold Decisions and Extrahousehold Networks

Conclusion: Toward an "Organic Feminism"

Tables

Table I: Population of Egypt, 1937-1995

Table II: An Example of an Ayma

Map

Map I: Map of Cairo

Appendices

Appendix I: Description of Study Population

Appendix II: Guiding Research Questions

Bibliography

Index

About the author

Heba El-Kholy is a development professional and social anthropologist. An Egyptian, she was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt. She holds a PhD. in Anthropology and Sociology from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London and a Masters degree in development Sociology from Cornell University. Over the past 18 years, she has worked in the Arab world as a development practitioner, activist, researcher and programme advisor with a number of regional and international organizations, including the Ford Foundation, the Canadian International Devplopment Agency (CIDA), and International Quality International. She has published numerous articles related to development and poverty and is a founder and board member of the Association for the Development and Enhancement of Women, (ADEW), in Egypt. Dr. El-Kholy currently lives and works in New York where she is Policy Advisor at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Summary

The gap between rich and poor is widening in most countries, putting more pressure on women in particular who often find themselves with the ultimate responsibility to provide for their families, especially their children, in the face of economic and political discrimination. Based on participant observation and in-depth interviews in four low-income neighborhoods in Cairo, this book offers rich, novel and intimate data relating to poor women's lives and everyday forms of resistance to gender inequalities in the labor market and at home. In contrast to the common stereotype of Middle Eastern women as totally oppressed and devoid of agency, this study shows the complex and diverse ways in which low-income women devise strategies to contest existing gender arrangements and improve their situation. It is a significant contribution to current debates about poverty, gender, power, and resistance.

Additional text

"[This book] is commended as being a thoughtful and thought-provoking survey which offers much-needed insights on economic ramifications and their lasting effects." ����Midwest Book Review

"The 13th volume in the outstanding 'New Directions in Anthropology' series...is a collection of insightful observations and cogent interviews ... and commended as being a thoughtful and thought-provoking survey which offers much-needed insights on economic ramifications and their lasting effects." ����The Bookwatch

"Dr.El-Kholy's powerful study of labouring women in four Cairo neighbourhoods shows them vigorously confronting gender inequalities. Mindful of their sexual reputations, they see marriage less as oppression, more as a risky entry into the 'real' world of womanhood. These women can be strong in negotiations over marriage contracts, and wage-rates. Crystal-clear analysis, persuasive writing, and contextualised ethnography combine to make this book an intellectual and political challenge."����Peter Loizos, London School of Economics

Product details

• Authors: Heba Heba Aziz El-Kholy, Heba El-Kholy, Heba Aziz El-Kholy
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.03.2003
• EAN: 9781571813916
• ISBN: 978-1-57181-391-6
• No. of pages: 290
• Dimensions: 152 mm x 229 mm x 15 mm
• Weight: 424 g
• Series: New Directions in Anthropology; New Directions in Anthropology
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > Sociological theories; Gender Studies and Sexuality, Anthropology (General)