Amazing Day in Bedouin Society

Seriously, an amazing day!  Let me tell you why I enjoyed it all so much.

In Jerusalem you don't really see women and when you do they don't talk to you.  I understand that it is part of the culture but really it makes me sad.  When we went to the Bedouin society we went specifically into a group called Sidreh which is an organization to help Bedouin women become literate and economically stable.  Obviously it was wonderful.  We had women talk to us and show us their weaving skills.  They told us a little bit about their history which I will now share.

Bedouins were the nomadic Arabs in the desert.  They never really settled in one place although usually they would have some sort of place to come back to and travel during different seasons.  The patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) were all bedouins.  The women in these societies had a significant role.  They were in charge of raising the children, doing all the agricultural work, and had the economic responsibility of the family.  (Does this leave you wondering what the men did?  They would get a job, if they could.)

When being a nomad no longer became available because the government wouldn't recognize them they had to settle down.  This created a problem for the women because now not being literate was a big problem and they no longer were contributing to the family.  That is why Sidreh is so amazing.  They teach women how to read and write AND they also make the women economically stable by using the skills they already have (weaving).  They have created a company to sell their products.  You can check out the site here.

With Hagar, the first Bedouin women to have a drivers license.

What a great beginning to the day and probably my favorite thing I have done here. It was amazing to really be in the culture with them and get to hear what they had to say. Absolutely wonderful! Then we headed to Tel Arad. There was a pretty big Israeli fortress and inside it was an ancient temple. Here you can see the Holy of Holies!

 

Next we headed to Tel Beersheba. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all talked to God there. Isn't that amazing! If you want to understand more about any of the sites I have gone to Dr. Huntsman has a great blog which you can check out here.  

These sites would have been amazing on their own, but really I am so happy that I was able to go to the Bedouin society. It was absolutely amazing and an experience that other students that have come to the JC have not had the opportunity to have. I am very grateful that I was able to go!