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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.
“[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
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