Changing Veils

Women and Modernisation in North Yemen

Carla Makhlouf

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781315523675
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Anthropology
• Index: Social Sciences

In Yemen, where current poverty is combined with a rich cultural heritage, the distinctions between the traditional and the modern are particularly difficult.

First published in 1979, this is a study of social change as experienced and perceived by the women of San'a, the capital city of North Yemen. It presents a synthesised view of the process of change rather than focusing on the issues of exploitation and emancipation, and draws upon observations of women's daily routine and ritual activities as well as the media and the provocative insights of Yemeni poets.

The veil is the focus of the study because it can be seen as a symbol of the contradictions inherent in Yemeni society, not just about the female but also about all social relations. It can be interpreted as both an instrument of oppression and the incitement of liberation and is thus illustrative of deep cultural ambiguities.

This book will be of interest to those studying women, gender, Islam, the Middle East and anthropology.

1 The Traditional Setting

'For we are women,
And we are finished
Even before life begins'.

(M. al Sharafi, 1970).

The distinction implied in this chapter between tradition and modernity is not made on the basis of a dividing point in time, even though the Revolution of 1962 provides a special date; nor is it assumed that tradition is the sum of internal, and modernity that of external, elements, even though this is to some extent true. In other words, tradition and modernity are not seen as independent systems of mechanically related variables, but as two aspects of one historical process.

I have selected a few aspects of traditional culture for discussion. These do not follow the usual division of social life into sectors such as kinship, economics, politics and religion. They have been selected not only because they were felt to be crucial for understanding traditional culture from the point of view of the female, but also because they all stimulate reflection of one important problem, that of the relation between the 'male aspect' and the 'female aspect' of the culture. In other words, social reality is seen here as the product of a dialectic between two opposed tendencies within the culture, the one 'male', the other one 'female'.

Up to a certain time, most of the literature about sex roles in Arab society either explicitly discussed or else implied the notion of the dominant status of the male and the subordinate status of the female (Antoun, 1968 and 1972; Baer, 1964; Fuller, 1961; Lutfiyya, 1966; Patai, 1973; Tillion, 1966); whereas more recent studies and accounts indicate that it is possible for the woman to have some decision-making power (Fernea, 1969 and 1976; Maher, 1974; Nelson, 1974; Altorki, 1973). The point here is that each of the two theoretical trends touches on one level of the culture: the former, that of overt ideology and action, the latter, that of inner structure. It is significant that earlier studies were more often conducted by researchers who, because of their particular role and status, had limited access to the women's world, and more recent ones by fieldworkers who succeeded in gaining an entree to the more secluded domains of social life. It is the aim here to combine these two perspectives and attempt to reveal some aspects of the interaction between the overt and covert levels of the culture.

I. The Politico-Religious Ideology in Yemeni Culture

The political ideology of Yemen emerges from the inter action of historical, religious and political factors. Historically, the North of the country was tribally organised and even today tribal divisions, alliances and confederations remain important. Moreover, the country has been dominated by the followers of the Zaidi sect which emerged in Iraq at the end of the Umayyad period and became dominant in Yemen by the eleventh century. According to Zaidi doctrine, as expounded in Kitāb al Azhār, the main treatise, legitimacy of rule is based upon fourteen requirements, among which are: being a male, a descendant of Ali, learned in religious matters and capable of leading his followers in holy battle. Both Zaidism and tribalism stress certain values which seem to celebrate the activities and virtues of men in groups and to restrict achievement in the political sphere to the males.¹ Moreover, in the religious courts of Yemen, as in tribal law, the blood money (diya) paid for a woman is evaluated at half the amount paid for a man, and the testimony of a man is worth that of two women.

The exclusion of the female at the legal level may in fact be the cultural expression of her seclusion at the social level, her restriction to the domestic sphere and her lack of access to public decision-making. Before the Revolution of 1962, education for the female was restricted to reading the Koran and did not include writing, except for a few upper-class women. One informant stated that traditional San'anis did not want girls to know how to write, because they might start writing letters to people. Still today in Yemen, schoolgirls represent only 9 per cent of the total number of pupils and 1.6 per cent of the girls in the age group concerned. The illiteracy rate for the total population of Yemen is estimated at 90 per cent (United Nations, 1973). Moreover, until very recently women were not allowed to work outside the house and were thus limited to familial roles defined by the rights and duties of the kinship system. The public image of the woman was mostly a function of her stage in the life-cycle and a reflection of the status of her husband. Outside these two factors, there were no major bases for status differentiation. In spite of the minor differences, women could be lumped into one category, al ḥarīm (the women). This seems to concur with Simmel's suggestion that 'the most general of her qualities, the fact that she was a woman and as such served the functions proper to her sex caused her to be classified with all other women under one general concept' (1955, p. 180). All women led similar lives, characterised by a domestic orientation and a strict segregation of male and female spheres of action.

II. Women's Separate Sphere

In a society marked by strict seclusion and rigidly defined sex roles, one would expect to find that the behaviour of women is extremely constrained. In fact, one of the most striking features of female society in Yemen is the atmosphere of relaxation which seems to prevail during both work and leisure time.

I visited some San'ani houses at different times of the day to observe the unfolding of the daily routine. In the morning, the men are always absent from home; they spend time at the office, the shop, the market or the mosque. During that time, the house is completely a female domain. The women do their cooking, cleaning, laundry. They receive brief visits from friends who drop by to inquire about something, extend an invitation to an afternoon visit, or simply to exchange news and chat a little.

Around the time of the noon prayer, men return home. In households of one nuclear family, all eat the midday meal together; if there are guests, or if the houshold includes a large number of relatives, the men eat first, and later the women and children. The meal typically includes a dish of bread soaked in yoghurt, a dish of pastry covered with honey, a dish of helba (a sort of sorghum pounded with spices and meat juice), some cooked meat and some fruit. There is little variation from this standard menu.

Usually, a normal small family lunch takes only a short time, and children are allowed to eat as much- or as little —as they wish. After the meal is over, the man goes out again, sometimes to work, most often to a gathering of friends for music and qāt-chewing.²

Women's lunches, like the rest of their activities, are casual. A tablecloth is laid on the floor, and pots, baskets, dishes, loaves of bread and salad leaves are arranged on it in a most pleasant fashion. All guests sit on the floor around the tablecloth — there seems to be no 'placing' of guests. Everybody reaches for the dishes as they are brought in, pieces of bread and silverware are informally passed around. Each eats at his own pace, which is usually fast, and people get up as soon as they have had enough to eat, regardless of those still eating. After clearing up, the women sit together in another room; incense is passed around to perfume the hair and colognes are generously poured on the heads of guests. Then coffee, qishr³ and tea are offered.

The afternoon prayer defines the beginning of an important female ritual. Around three o'clock, in the streets of San'a, one may begin to see groups of girls and women veiled in black going to a tafrita (afternoon visit), some carrying their qāt wrapped in big pieces of bright plastic.⁴ At the same time, men also are going to friends' houses to chew qāt. It is usually arranged in advance that the men of the household receive their guests when the women are invited out, and, conversely, the women manage to invite their friends on days when the men are out. Afternoon visits constitute the principal leisure activity in Yemeni society. Many of the women's tafriṭa are held to mark important events like births or marriages, but often they are not directly related to such 'rites of passage' and sociability is their apparent motive. ⁵

Usually, a very large number of women are gathered at a tafriṭa, and I have rarely been to one where the reception room was less than overcrowded. Sometimes there are so many guests that those already sitting on the carpets have to squeeze together to make room for newcomers. Guests arrive all veiled in black, remove their cloaks and shoes at the door, and appear in the majlis (sitting room) dressed in various colours of rich brocades and velvets or the cheaper cloths and synthetics which mark the lower status groups. The women wear their best clothes and display their jewelry, especially if the tafriṭa is a more ritual one, or one taking place at a richer woman's. All wear bright muslin scarves on their heads, and married women wear a brocade band around the forehead. Upon entering a women's majlis, one is taken by the glimmer of all the colours and brocades, by the chatter and music, the pungent smell of tobacco, the heady scent of incense, the sweet fragrance of perfume, and the hot damp atmosphere of the room.

The space in the middle of the majlis is taken up by several tall brass madā' (waterpipe or hookah) whose long hoses sinuate across the room and are passed among the guests. Tea and qishr, spicy, hot and sweet, are passed around as well as nuts, raisins, candy, and, a surprising intruder among all these traditional items rich in feminine and mas culine connotations, ṭuffāsh (popcorn). Women enjoy smoking the madā' and about one third chew qāt which, they say, cools the body and relaxes it after the fatigues of the day. There may be some riddle-guessing, story-telling and joking at a tafriṭa. Always there is music. If a professional singer is present she will take her tambourine and sing, but most often now she has been replaced by the cassette-player which brings into San'ani houses the songs of popular Egyptian, Syrian and Lebanese musicians as well as the famous local and Adeni lute players and singers. Then some women get up, clear some space in the middle of the room by removing discarded qāt leaves and trays of coffee-cups, and dancing begins. San'ani dances, distinct from other tribal or local dances, consist in subtle movements of the feet, hips and arms, following a melody which at first sounds monotonous, but which, as one learns to follow the evasive rythm and the complex, contrapuntal structure, becomes enchanting.

The evening prayer marks the end of the tafriṭa and the time when both men and women go back to their homes. Since there is no evening dinner, as the intake of qāt considerably reduces the appetite, the return from visiting seems to end the daily cycle of activities.

There is little variety in the regular daily routine. Fridays and feast days hardly differ from other days, except perhaps in the amount of visiting. Generally, the women's lives follow a repetitive pattern limited to the house, and marked by the absence of privacy. While the men are busy in the market, the office and the mosque, involved in those economic, political and religious activities that are defined as central in the culture, the domestic orientation of women seems irrelevant to the progression of activities 'outside' in the society. As if, by so clearly defining the feminine space, culture were setting women apart into timelessness . . .

The all-female groupings that exist as a result of seclusion constitute the universe within which girls and women of all ages spend the greatest part of their lives. From the time of childhood, girls to a greater extent than boys are likely to participate in an inter-generational world with their mothers, aunts and grandmothers. Very early they begin to help with household chores and attend to their younger siblings. Always when I was visiting my San'ani informants in the morning, there would be a younger sister or an eldest daughter working in the kitchen, grinding the greens and spices for the daily dish of ḥelba, cutting vegetables, going on little errands or supervising the play of younger children. Young boys, on the other hand, are usually left to play all day with their friends in the streets or occasionally accompany their fathers to the market or the mosque.⁶ little girls are encouraged very early to learn the role of women; they often accompany their mothers on afternoon visits, and some of them are even eager to start wearing the black cloak and veil before the prescribed age of ten. The socialisation of little girls takes place within the context of groupings characterised by particularistic, diffuse, affective relationships and seems to favour continuity rather than fragmentation in the development of personality.⁷ This helps moderate the impact of transitions in the life cycle and dampens the possibilities of inter-generational conflict, but at the same time it reinforces traditional ideas and practices.

The traditional woman's world, then, offers little chance for achievement. The only roles open to women are those defined by their position in the life cycle, and the activities which delimit these roles have no special cultural value attached to them. In the standard Zaidi legal treatise Kitāb al Azhār, written in the fifteenth century AD and the main reference on all matters relating to sharī'a (Islamic law), it is stated that the only duty of women is to allow sexual intercourse (tamkīn al waṭ'). This was later amended by Imam Ahmed (1948-62) who added that women should not stay idle and that it was also their duty to work in the house (Ikhtiyārāt al Imām Ahmed, n.d.).⁸

The cultural ideology, however, does not always provide a complete picture of social reality. In this case, where there exists a large amount of sex segregation, women are given a separate sphere over which men have little control and which may constitute a source of support and even of power.⁹

This separate sphere also provides a source of information and gossip in a society which encourages secrecy about the home and about women (both are sometimes referred to by the same term, al ḥaram). One may even argue that daily visits represent for women a public domain of activity, if we mean by public that sphere of life which is situated at the inter-familial level. Women's access to this public sphere counterbalances the domestic orientation by which they are otherwise defined. It is possible, as will become clear later, for women to manipulate this sphere in order to influence decision-making and thus gain some informal political importance in society. In other words, the restriction of the female to the domestic sphere, which characterises Yemeni patrilineal society, is only partial.

Moreover, a cultural ideology which presents women's part in society as insignificant does not necessarily result in self-devaluation for the women.¹⁰ Rather, the subjective reality of women's lives may contradict this view. In fact, for the outsider expecting constrained and repressed female types as a result of seclusion, it is a most agreeable surprise to find that San'ani women do not seem nearly as tense or inhibited as women in some other cultures. Almost always the atmosphere at women's gatherings is pleasant and relax ing. Housework is accepted as part of being a woman. One informant when asked whether she liked it replied simply: 'If I didn't like it they [meaning her husband and children] wouldn't eat.' It should also be pointed out that San'ani ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Original Title
• Original Copyright
• Contents
• Dedication
• Introduction and Background to the Study
• 1. The Traditional Setting
• 2. Modern Forces
• 3. Journeys to Public Spheres
• 4. Changing Women: The Critical Attitude
• Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Index