PALESTINIAN SOCIETY - Fafo

Another interesting point in Table 10.20 Are youfree to move at will. By dress
this connection is that only 71 % forms. Percentage
of women working outside the
home feel free to move - this
implies that almost 30% of women
who travel daily between their
home and work place feel restricted
in their movement.
Thobe Strict Islamic Semi Islamic
Yes 63 45 34
No 37 55 66
Total 100 100 100
N 322 497 245
Table 10.20 presents perceptions of freedom of movement by
forms of dress. Here again the issue of perception seems to arise.
Women wearing 'modem dress' (no headscart) feelleast restricted in
their movement, while women wearing 'modified Islamic' feel most
restricted. These are women who would have been wearing modem
forms of dress a few years ago. Theirresponse might be interpreted as
an indication of a larger feeling of coercion at work in their lives.
However, there is also an effect of age and marita! status. Y oung
unmarried women are more likely to wear 'modified Islamic' than
married women are, and this is the age group which feels the least free
to move at will.
Of the 50% of women whoclaimed they are notfree to moveatwill,
table 10.21 describes their ability to go to various destinations and
their dependence on being escorted or not.
When breaking the above table down by marita! status, a fairly
regular pattem arises; married and unmarried women are almost
equally unable to go any place, but unmarried women are less able to
go to the various destinations alone. This pattem remains regular with
respect to going to the market, the doctor and in-town relatives.
However, unmarried women's ability to go to more distant destinations
(relatives out of town or abmad), alone orescorted, is somewhat
more restricted than that of married women. Still, jf one excludes
women under the age of 20, the differences between married and
Table 10.21 Are you free to go to the fo llowing destinations ? N=608.
Percentage
Cannot go Can go escorted Can goalone Total
Market 11 56 33 100
Doctor - 80 20 100
Relatives in town 2 56 42 100
Relatives outside town 17 78 5 100
Abroad 32 63 5 100
304
Modem
65
35
100
127