Women in the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic are women who were born in, who live in, or are from the

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (; SADR; also romanized with Saharawi; ar, الجمهورية العربية الصحراوية الديمقراطية ' es, República Árabe Saharaui Democrática), also known as Western Sahara, is a ...

(SADR, also romanized with Saharawi) in the region of the

Western Sahara Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the ...

or the

Sahrawi refugee camps The Sahrawi refugee camps (also romanized with Saharawi) in Tindouf, Algeria, are a collection of refugee camps set up in the Tindouf Province, Algeria in 1975–76 for Sahrawi refugees fleeing from Moroccan forces, who advanced through Wester ...

. In Sahrawi society, the women share responsibilities at every level of its community and social organization.Donati, Simone
Saharawi
Terra Project Photographers. Article 41 of the

Constitution of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic A constitution of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) was first promulgated in 1976, but it has been revised several times since then. The last major redrafting came in 1991, but this version was further changed by the Sahrawi National Cou ...

ensures that the state will pursue "the promotion of

women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

and heir

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

, social and cultural participation, in the construction of society and the country's development".

Clothing

Clothing worn by the Sahrawis include the robe called as the

Daraa Daraa ( ar, دَرْعَا, Darʿā, Levantine Arabic: , also Darʿā, Dara’a, Deraa, Dera'a, Dera, Derʿā and Edrei; means "''fortress''", compare Dura-Europos) is a city in southwestern Syria, located about north of the border with Jord ...

. Women wear the headscarf known as the mefhla.

Role in refugee camps

The

Polisario Front The Polisario Front, Frente Polisario, Frelisario or simply Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of (Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro), (in ar, rtl=yes, الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير الس� ...

, a national

liberation movement A liberation movement is an organization or political movement leading a rebellion, or a non-violent social movement, against a colonial power or national government, often seeking independence based on a nationalist identity and an anti-imperial ...

that is recognized by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

as the representative of the people of Western Sahara since 1979, has attempted to modernize the society of the

that was set up in Tindouf Province,

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

from 1975 to 1976, through emphasis on education, eradication of

tribalism Tribalism is the state of being organized by, or advocating for, tribes or tribal lifestyles. Human evolution has primarily occurred in small hunter-gatherer groups, as opposed to in larger and more recently settled agricultural societies or civ ...

and

emancipation Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure economic and social rights, political rights or equality, often for a specifically disenfranch ...

of women. The role of Sahrawi women was central already in pre-colonial and colonial life, but was strengthened further during the war years (1975–1991), when Sahrawi women ran most of the camps' administration, while the men were fighting at the front. This together with literacy- and professional education classes produced major advances in the role of women in Sahrawi society. The return of large numbers of Sahrawi men since the cease fire in 1991 may have slowed this development according to some observers, but women still run a majority of the camps' administration, and the Sahrawi women's union UNMS is very active in promoting their role. The role of women in camps was enhanced by their shouldering of the main responsibility for the camps and government bureaucracy during the war years, as virtually the entire male population was enrolled in the Polisario army.

Politics

In the 2012 election for seats in the

Sahrawi National Council The Sahrawi National Council (SNC) or Sahrawi Parliament is the legislature of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Its structure and competences are guided by the Constitution of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). The present speaker ...

, 35% of the parliamentarians were women. In the legislative election in 2008 women gained 34.61% of seats, thanks in part to a quota system.

Cultural life

In Sahrawi culture, the role of the poet is not gendered and both men and women are recognised as accomplished poets. Poets such as Al Khadra and

Hadjatu Aliat Swelm Hadjatu Aliat Swelm, Arabic: حجاتو عليات سويلم (born 1973) is a Sahrawi poet, whose work examines the role of women in Sahrawi culture. Biography Swelm was born in the Sagir Valley, Western Sahara. She has written poetry through ...

compose works inspired by the Sahrawi struggle, as well as life in Sahrawi camps. Women are the only ones in Hassani poetry (the tradition Sahrawi poetry is part of) to compose the ''tabr'a'' genre. In musical life, women traditionally play the ''ardin'' (plural ''irdiwen''), which is a small lap harp with between nine to fourteen strings.

References

External links