Money, power, and inequality within marriage among Palestinian families in Israel

Abstract

A key factor in promoting egalitarian gender relations is financial independence for women. Palestinian women citizens of Israel (PWCI) serve as a case study for gender relations in a patriarchal society. The financial identity of these women develops alongside general institutional discrimination, dual judicial systems (civil and religious), civil status, and cultural norms. However, factors affecting family budget allocation and financial autonomy of women in this society are not well understood. The present qualitative study used in-depth, semi-structured interviews to analyze patterns of financial allocation in the family system. The findings reveal that the financial independence of most PWCI is limited, although the spectrum ranges from partially autonomous financial management to economic violence. Most couples keep separate accounts, where the wife receives an allowance from her husband, and the wife’s relative financial autonomy is determined by the magnitude of this allowance. Under such conditions, gender relations and power relations are unequal. Most PWCI are unemployed or working in low-paid jobs, and consequently, their contribution to the family budget is considered negligible. However, this meager contribution enables women to participate in financial decision-making, from which they are often excluded by their husband. Furthermore, the ability of women to save money is limited as well, and some must do so in a clandestine manner. The findings shed light on economic autonomy of women, and will allow policy makers to establish criteria for determining when normative economic behavior becomes violent, to promote legislation ensuring equal rights for women.

Differences between Israeli Jewish and Arabs mothers in parental self-efficacy: A cultural perspective

“…Another related possible explanation is that marital satisfaction is a proxy for women's dependency on their husbands in matters related to parental capacity. A recent study found that the financial independence of Arab women in Israel is limited, reflecting the unequal gender and power relations of Arab society [43]. It could be that the women's high degree of marital satisfaction reflected their ability to maintain a good relationship with their husbands and hence greater access to the family's financial means, enabling them to more successfully execute the variety of tasks involved in parenting.…”

“…The study also did not examine differences between various ethnic groups within the Arab population. The Arab population comprises Muslims, Christians who are considered less traditional and more urbanized than their Muslim counterparts, and Druze, a very religious and conservative community that resides mainly in rural villages in northern Israel [43]. Because the latter two groups were a very small part of the sample (7.6% and 14.7%, respectively), we were unable to consider them separately and included them in the larger Arab group.…”

The social construction of HIV: A narrative study of Israeli Arab People

“…Arab society is considered patriarchal (Abu‐Baker, 2016; Meler, 2020). Despite, for example, that women can currently pursue higher education, the family structure and gender roles of Arab Israeli families remain essentially unchanged.…”

Economic Abuse of Palestinian Mothers in Israel: The Case of Participants in a Welfare-to-Work Program

“…Another type of economic abuse is related to income allocation, i.e., decisions about and practices of how the money generated by household members is divided between areas of expenditure and savings (Meler, 2019). The outcome of these decisions and practices is considered the actual income distribution.…”

“…The outcome of these decisions and practices is considered the actual income distribution. Income is allocated through overt and covert mechanisms operating within the household (Pahl, 1983; Vogler, 1994), based on different gender expectations (Meler, 2019; Roman & Vogler, 1999). Different methods of money management between spouses are clearly related to income, and gender inequalities in access to money are a result of these allocation systems (Roman & Vogler, 1999).…”