Ministry of Tourism Puts Bedouin Women on the Map

August 29, 2007

Israel's Ministry of Tourism has literally put the economic empowerment programs for the Bedouin women of Lagiya and surrounding villages on the map. Brown signs on Highway 31 now point the way to the weaving and embroidery projects of the Bedouin women. Consequently, dozens of Israelis taking their summer vacation in the Negev have visited Lagiya to see the exquisite traditional textile crafts of the local women, with many visitors making purchases.

The Negev weaving project at Lagiya, which employs 150 women, is supported by NIF grantee Sidreh, which promotes employment and educational programs for Bedouin women in Lagiya and surrounding unrecognized villages. The desert embroidery project, which employs an additional 100 women from Lagiya and the region, is supported by NIF grantee Lagiya: Association for the Improvement of the Status of Women.

Among the women participating in the weaving project is R. Her husband left her with her three young children, but refuses to give her a divorce or pay child support. R returned to her parent's home where she lives with her children in one room. "The $300 a month I earn from the weaving not only means I can give my children so much more, but has also given me back my sense of self-esteem."

It pays to weave for these Negev Bedouin women.

NIF and its family of grantees have long promoted a policy of gender equality though economic empowerment programs in all of Israel's disadvantaged sectors, including minorities, new immigrants and Mizrachi communities. The projects in Lagiya have succeeded despite some major setbacks and fierce opposition from some of the community's men. In 2004, some $55,000 worth of goods was stolen from the Negev weaving project and the following year the embroidery workshop was burnt down as a result of arson. An NIF emergency grant helped the embroidery program to restart.

Hadra El Sana, Director of Sidreh, observed that with the projects bringing substantial sums of money into the village, many men who were once opposed to the women's economic empowerment programs are now very much in favor. "Men often stop and ask me if we have employment for their wives and daughters," she said.

"The Tourism Ministry's recognition is very important for us," El Sana added. "Our dream is to build a tourist village, which will be run by women and present the Bedouin women's heritage."