Changing women's roles, changing environmental knowledges: evidence from Upper Egypt

Briggs, J., Sharp, J. , Hamed, N. and Yacoub, H. (2003) Changing women's roles, changing environmental knowledges: evidence from Upper Egypt. Geographical Journal, 169(4), pp. 313-325. (doi: 10.1111/j.0016-7398.2003.00095.x)

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to investigate the ways in which changing gender roles in a Bedouin community in Upper Egypt, brought about by settlement over the last 20 years on the shores of Lake Nasser, have impacted on the accumulation and development of indigenous environmental knowledges by Bedouin women. The research was carried out among four groups of Ababda Bedouin in the Eastern Desert of Egypt and involved in-depth monthly conversations carried out over a period of 12 months. The main conclusions of the study are that the women of the study area have had to develop new knowledges which, in some cases, are now different from those held by men because of the different economic circumstances in which many find themselves; that these knowledges are fluid, dynamic and ever-changing with their own internal dynamism; and that socially constructed notions of gender are vital in the development process, notions that are sensitive to both men's and women's interests and their interrelationships.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Sharp, Professor Jo and Briggs, Professor John
• Authors: Briggs, J., Sharp, J., Hamed, N., and Yacoub, H.
• Subjects: H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman; H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Geographical and Earth Sciences
• Journal Name: Geographical Journal
• Publisher: Blackwell Publishing
• ISSN: 0016-7398
• ISSN (Online): 1475-4959
• Published Online: 02 December 2003
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2003 Blackwell Publishing
• First Published: First published in Geographical Journal 169 (4) 313 - 325
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced with the permission of the Publisher.