She Is a Widow: The Story of Six Druze Widows in Israel

Abstract

This study of six Druze widows in Israel deals with Druze law, women's personal status, the widows' difficulties, and the conflicts between Druze traditional society and modernity. The Druze society is a traditional, collective, patriarchal and religious society, in which independence and the attachment to the land have always been considered central values (Amrani, 2010;Falah, 2000) [1] [2]. The women's status is considered inferior to that of the men's and their main role is conceived as raising children and taking care of the house. Following are the stories of Druze women who became civilian widows during the 1950's through the 1970's. The study examines the way widows coped with their situation in a time in which the Druze society underwent great changes, moving from a traditional society to a more modern one.

Intermarriage among Druze Men

“…A Religious Druze who does not follow religion is ostracized from religious gatherings for a period, according to the severity of offense (Faraj, 2016b) Two offenses (of murder and prostitution) are the most serious, and the offender is outcast of the meetings for the rest of his life. The religious leaders are the main influencers on the social and religious status of the congregation, they are entitled to keep out people from "the Khalwa" as a result of the following offenses: sitting together women and men at a wedding, singing and dancing together, or at a time of death for example, the leaders are entitled to decide not to pray for a person or avoid saying "God have mercy on you" which is considered most humiliating in the eyes of the Druze.…”

“To Believe in God and in Own Personal Competencies”: The Family Life of Arab Muslim Widowed Women in Israel

“…The national-based discrimination on the one hand and the gender-based exclusion on the other hand, make it hard for Israeli-Palestinian mothers from single-parent families to find a job and thwart the chances of such families, in which the salary is limited to one provider, to strive to economic independence. (Faraj Falah 2016) [14].…”

“Pioneers”—The Druze Women School Principals as Role Models & Generators of Social Change

“…The Druze community conducts conservative traditional patriarchal lifestyle (Amarani, 2010;Halabi & Shamai, 2016;Faraj-Falah, 2016b) with a constant concern to maintain the Druze core values and tradition such as Druze religion, tradition, independence and relation to land (Falah, 2000). The Druze family is characterized by a distinct hierarchy, which is emphasized by an absolute rule of the father on the extended family-his wife, sons, daughters, the sons' brides and offspring.…”