Bedouin Tribes of the Euphrates Vol 2 - The Search For Mecca

2 28 Bedotiin Tribes of the Euphrates, [ch. xxvi.
between rival wives.
In such cases it is not unusual
to see a woman leave her husband for the reason that
she cannot agree with the elder wife, for the first
married generally retains her position as mistress of
the household, and often abuses it. It is, however,
remarkable how little jealousy is generally shown,
even where several wives have to live together. To
European ideas all
this is of course ver}^ distasteful,
but custom sanctions their position to Ai^ab women,
and there is nothing in the least degrading to them
in the fact that they are not alone in the tent;
while their quarrels seem to have no deeper foundation
than those which divide the members of an
ordinary Enghsh household.
Women, in the desert, have their rights, which
are respected ;
and they do not complain that they
are ill-treated. It has not yet occurred to them
that they should be placed on an equal footing with
their husbands or their brothers. They are hardworked
and happy.