EXPERIENCIA, OBSERVACIÓN Y CONCEPTUALIZACIÓN

Women’s gain of land and related knowledge and information provided them with leadership roles in using micro-credit, other entrepreneurial activities, and day-to-day activities related to the land (such as hiring of labour and sale of crops and animals) that had ripple effects on other sides of their lives. Women were able to define goals and projects through access to land and not all but some succeeded in their realization, such as going on pilgrimage and marrying off one’s children. The extent of profit from and success of these projects, however, differed between Sa’yda and Intilaq. Women landholders in both

settlements spearheaded entrepreneurial projects, such as camel fattening and cultivating fruit trees, through access to micro-credit or in partnership with entrepreneurs, usually from the original hometowns.

As mentioned in the control over property section, many women participated in decision-making related to their lands due to their knowledge of farming and their network base. In many land interactions, women landholders were the sole representatives and as such participated in decision-making related to sale of fertilizer rations in the black market, renting of new spaces in the settlements, and obtaining micro-credit. During my stay in Sa’yda, I

witnessed firsthand how women landholders initiated projects for their sons from micro- credit opportunities. I convinced the Head of the Sa’yda settlement to provide twelve women landholders with micro-credit, who were previously thought of as unsuccessful farmers. Om Badawi took the micro-credit for her sons to cultivate her original land that recently gained access to water. She initiated the project and her sons followed her lead. During my visit in 2013, one of her sons told me that they could have repaid the entire loan amount but that his mother refused to do so and decided to use the money on a new project instead. This

confirms that Om Badawi has an important role in decision-making related to the profit of the land and its activities.

Almost all WLs who stayed in Sa’yda played an instrumental role in the hibiscus,

karkadeh, summer crop. WLs had the final say in the timing and the price of the hibiscus sale. WLs are mainly responsible for plucking the flowers and in collecting leftovers during the harvest season. Om Badee’, for example, often keeps her hibiscus crop until the end of the season to fetch a higher price. “Last year we all sold the karkadeh at 17 EL per kilo, but Om Badee’ sold at 20 EL. She waited until the end of the season, when the price of karkadeh

went up,” explained Fatma, the daughter of Om Badawi.

WLs in Sa’yda preferred interacting with men from their home towns and men in official positions, such as the local Village Engineer and the fertilizer keeper. Most often, these WLs called unrelated men ‘sons’. They do so to avoid being talked about in a malicious way. It is not customary for women to interact with unrelated men. Older WLs were more likely to get away with interacting with unrelated men than younger WLs, as we will see below. GWLs had more freedom in interacting with unrelated men on both professional grounds and as friends. GWLs, as opposed to WLs, joked and spent time with male friends on a regular basis. Few GWLs refused to interact with unrelated men. On the other hand, many WLs refused to sit with unrelated men to discuss land or village issues. Men who approached WLs for such discussions were accused by WLs as gossipers, ‘talkers to women’, and unemployed.

Land access and its associated roles and responsibilities provided women with decision-making abilities in other aspects of their lives, such as relations with marriage partners and domestic violence. For some WLs and GWLs, the land provided them with

access to husbands, which would otherwise be difficult due to their poverty or old age. Om Mahmoud in Sa’yda and Om Saydiya in Intilaq, for example, were older in age when they got married. In their societies they would be described as past due for marriage. Om Mahmoud’s parents wanted her to marry her cousins, but Om Mahmoud refused to do so. Om Mahmoud met her husband through renting of the land. She rented the land to him. Along the same lines, Om Abdallah and Om Na’im were both older and divorced when they got married. Being divorced and middle aged usually reduce the marriage prospects of a woman dramatically in both areas. Om Na’im got married to a man who is younger than her by ten years, which is very unusual in Egypt. Om Na’im also met her current husband through the land. He rented out parts of her land in the Sa’yda. “I married him. He was renting two acres of my land. It is not appropriate for a man to come in and out of my house without being related to me,” explained Om Na’im about how she married her husband.

WLs in the Sa’yda and GWLs in Intilaq in comparison to non-landholders seemed to have more choice over the selection of husbands and wives for their sons and daughters. As opposed to the norm in Upper Egypt, where men and women usually marry their paternal cousins, most of the WLs’ sons and daughters were married to their maternal cousins. In many cases, the WLs, especially the divorced ones, refused to let their sons and daughters marry paternal cousins and preferred maternal cousins. The choice of the future daughter-in- law is strategic for a WL or GWL. A daughter-in-law would be expected to help her mother- in-law with daily house chores and take care of her in old age. WLs seemed to trust their sisters’ daughters more in these tasks.

As mentioned earlier, the land allowed women to defy oppressive relations with their in-laws and husbands, thereby gaining more control and decision-making power over their lives. As opposed to non-landholders, women with land access in both settlements believed that domestic (partner) violence is abusive and should be stopped. Also many women felt that it is possible for them to be equal to men. It is clear then that the land initiated an awareness raising process against domestic violence and towards equality between genders.

5.6 Factors that Impeded Empowerment for Women