Bedouin Girls Slaves In Dowry Trade

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31087, 16 June 1966, Page 2

Bedouin Girls Slaves In Dowry Trade

(NZP.A.-Reuter) _ TEL AVIV. Bedouin girls are treated as slaves by their parents and their husbands, according to Dahem el*Ataouna, a Bedouin student in the faculty of history and political science of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

In an article devoted mainly to the marriage customs, Dahem el-Ataouna, who grew up in a Bedouin encampment, declares that the dowry custom, which was originally merely symbolical, has today become a profitable business conducted according to the law of supply and demand.

The minimum price of a bride today among the Bedouin tribesmen of the Negev is about 2000 dollars (nearly £7OO) —and, says Dahem, that is a real bargain price. Bedouin girls enjoy freedom only up to the age of eight, when they have to cover their faces and are forbidden to talk to strange men. Ready At 13

At the age of 13, the girl is regarded as ready for marriage.

“The Bedouin father has no need to advertise in the newspapers for a son-in-law,” writes Dahem. “That task is performed by the womenfolk who visit the encampment in search of brides for their sons. The women describe the girls to their husbands and these in turn consider whether the ‘investment’ is worthwhile. The boy and girl are not consulted at all. “The girl’s father has no

consideration other than the money. He may choose for his daughter an old man, or one who already has three other wives. . . .”

Referring to the Bedouin boy, Dahem says that when informed that he is to wed, he thinks only of the moment when he will face his bride alone in the tent.

“He may not have seen her before. She may be a divorced woman or several years his elder,” writes Dahem. “No matter, the main thing is that she is a woman. . .

The wedding festivities, Dahem continues, go on for three successive nights. Two large tents are erected, one for the menfolk and the other for the women. Wedding Dances The first night is for the members of the tribe only, and its highlight is the “Sword Dance.” For this, the men stand in a semi-circle and one woman faces them with a drawn sword in her hand. The men sing and dance to the accompaniment of their reed flutes and the rhythmic sound of drums. The woman slowly retreats. The bravest among the men steps forward toward her. The woman waves her sword, hitting left and right, and retreating further.” AU this time, Dahem says, the bride, entirely covered up, sits watching the scene, which goes on imtH everyone is tired and retires to his tent.

Guests from more distant places arrive on the second day of the festivities. Singing and dancing go on during the second night, but then the bride is taken by the womenfolk of the bridegroom’s family to her new home. They guard her there all night so that she will not escape to her parents’ tent. The third day is the most eventful, with horse racing, shoot-competitions, and a lavish meal. At sundown, the crowds disperse and in the men’s tent only the closest relatives of the bridegroom remain. In the women’s tent only the bride and her mother are waiting. The mother gives her daughter the test words of advice. Dahem adds: “The bride is crying, when suddenly rifles are discharged and the bridegroom enters. The mother extricates herself from her daughter’s arms and leaves the tent . . . the bridegroom, generally between 16 and 18 years of age, goes about it directly, without love play.” Later, shots fired outside the tent are the signal for the bridegroom to come out and receive the congratulations of the tribesmen.

Dahem, the young Bedouin who has left the encampment, comments: “Inside the tent the girl lies bruised and broken-hearted. She may be nursing the day she was bom. Perhaps she asks God why He permits women to be sold as slaves?”