Suppression of the Female Name in Contemporary Palestine

Palestinian female identity has been constructed and reconstructed as an amalgamation of patriarchal-oriented roles (daughter, wife, mother, sister, grandmother or even aunt), demonstrating women's exclusion from the realm of men who have proper names to locate them within a family group. This...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inMiddle East critique Vol. 29; no. 4; pp. 421 - 432
Main Authors Hamamra, Bilal, Alawi, Nabil, Herzallah, Ruqqaya
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 01.10.2020
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Amalgamation
Commodification
Criticism
Culture
Dehumanization
Females
Identity
Name
Palestinian Women
Patronymic Culture
Politics
Public sphere
Subordination
Terms of Address
Women
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Summary:Palestinian female identity has been constructed and reconstructed as an amalgamation of patriarchal-oriented roles (daughter, wife, mother, sister, grandmother or even aunt), demonstrating women's exclusion from the realm of men who have proper names to locate them within a family group. This article examines the suppression of the female name and the use of reference and terms of address as euphemisms for women in contemporary, non-urban Palestine. While the exclusion of the female name from the public sphere fuels feminists' criticism of this patriarchal dehumanization, objectification and commodification of the female, we contend that the possibility of undermining Palestinian patronymic culture is shattered because women publicly advertise themselves as the sister, mother, daughter and wife of someone and, hence, their participation in the conventionally male-dominated sphere of politics upholds their subordination.
ISSN:1943-6149
1943-6157
DOI:10.1080/19436149.2020.1826733