Negev Bedouin women Negev Bedouin women The Bedouin are a primarily desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group. As a pastoral, nomadic society, they live in numerous nation-states in the Middle East. The Negev Bedouin live in the Negev region of Israel. After Israel's independence in 1948, many of the Bedouin who remained in the area were relocated to towns. Israel has built seven official Bedouin townships, and approximately half of all Negev Bedouin live in these towns. The remainder live in unrecognized, unplanned townships which are officially illegal. The Israeli government does not provide infrastructure assistance or other services to those Bedouin who live in
Negev Bedouin women power, but the vital economic roles of the women granted them significant degree of influence over the household decision-making. However, the larger societal context of Bedouin culture is changing, particularly in the Negev. For the past several decades, the policy of the Israeli government has been to move the Negev Bedouin from the desert to official settlements. This has had several significant effects on Negev Bedouin society. Significantly, the move from a nomadic lifestyle to a sedentary one has displaced the Bedouin women from their previously critical economic roles. Moreover, the shift to a sedentary lifestyle means that wage labor